Legend of the Moon Queen
by MasterXMaster
Summary: Sailor Moon and the inner Senshi investigate a strange phenomenon and end up on planet Vegeta in the DBZ universe, in saiyan bodies! Their only chance to return is the mysterious woman who carried them there. Will they survive the strange brutal world of the Saiyan race? Set six months after the defeat of Sailor Galaxia and two years before the destruction of planet Vegeta.
1. Chapter 1: The Storm

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

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**Author Notes:** I've been thinking about writing this fic for some time. I love both SM and DBZ and I had to write a cross over! Trying to be faithful to both universe's differing laws I made up an OC to explain it all. She won't be a main character though, her role is being a Mac-Guffin. Good reading ^^

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**Chapter one: The Storm**

It started as a normal day in Juuban town. Among the crowd four girls were waiting in front of a newly opened sweet shop.

"Uff! Rei is late! I want to eat the new triple size chocolate cake! Why is she late? I can't resist anymore, I'm going in!" whined Tsukino Usagi, age 17, almost crying.

Three other girls were patiently enduring their friend's tantrums, so accustomed they were. One of them, the bluenette Mizuno Ami, tried to calm down her friend.

"Usagi-chan, please, you know Rei-chan has to walk to come here from her school. Try to be patient." she said embarrassed.

"But... aww, i skipped my after-school snack to make room for this shop's special cake! I'm starving!" replied Usagi still crying.

Makoto and Minako, the remaining two girls, sighed smiling. Usagi never stopped to surprise them with the ability to put herself in embarrassing situations. Fortunately for them Rei, the missing girl, finally showed up. The raven haired shrine maiden was wearing her school's uniform.

"Oh, at least! Rei-chan, you are awfully late! Let's go inside, hurry!" said Usagi brightening up in an instant.

Makoto, a tall brunette, smiled at her, "Usagi, how can you even speak of being late to Rei, when you are always late, except when food is involved?"

"Don't worry, Mako-chan. There's a good reason if 'I' am late." said Rei following Usagi in the shop.

The girls were seated at a table and ordering slices of delicious cakes in no time. While eating, curiosity prevailed and Usagi had to ask "Thn, whchmp 'you' whre lthe?" speaking with a mouthful of cake in the mouth.

"Usagi! Eat properly before speaking, you risk to..." Ami tried to say, not in time.

"Urghhh, aghhh, glooomp!" clearly trying to swallow before choking, Usagi's face changed from pink to red, then blue, while her friends eyed her with worried expressions. With a mighty gulp she managed to breath again.

"I was asking, why 'you' were late? Uh this cake is soooo good!" she ate another mouthful of it.

Ami, Makoto and Minako immediately started laughing, while Rei remained silent. "I had a premonition." she said bluntly.

The laughter died down quickly, while the girl's expression turned serious in an instant. Even Usagi stopped eating, if only for a moment. "Another enemy?" she said wearily.

"I sincerely don't know. I have been nervous since last week, but I cannot see anything clearly. It's not a definite sensation. More like a ripple in a pond rather than a huge wave..." Rei stared down at her cake, untouched.

"I thought defeating Chaos was our last battle... that we could live peacefully ever after." murmured Usagi. Minako tried to comfort her friend placing a hand over her shoulder. "Usagi-chan..." she said softly.

In the battle against Sailor Galaxia and Chaos, Usagi suffered immensely, saving them only through her great love. They were supposed to aid her, but it always came the other way around, and they knew it. Every one of them loved the cheerful girl, wishing her a peaceful life with her fiancée, Mamoru. Unfortunately the universe was not cooperating.

"I can't decide if it is a bad sensation or a good one. I told you nothing because I don't know what I'm sensing. It's been eight days, until now, and it is growing stronger each day. Still I don't know what to do about it. It's not clear, not at all! Usually I have some visions, but this time... I only feel a vague foreboding." Rei explained them almost apologetically.

"Rei-chan, you are aware of this premonition since eight days ago, right?" asked Ami. Her friend nodded.

"Then, maybe there's a correlation to the water plant incident..." she said while taking out a little hand computer from her school bag.

"Water plant? Such as water lilies?" Asked Makoto, always the plant lover.

"No, I'm referring to an incident in the water distribution plant happened last week. It was on the news for days! I can't believe no one of you knew about it!" Ami said, disheartened.

Her friends smiled embarrassed, while she started a search on her computer, showing them a news page. "Someone poisoned the water in the plant using an automatic dispenser device. The device was discovered deactivated by the police, following an anonymous phone call. Three workers were found dead nearby. Someone killed them to place the device, and someone else disarmed it and notified the police about it. It happened exactly eight days ago.

The friends looked at each other. "Terrorists?" suggested Minako, a blonde athletic girl. "In my days as Sailor V in England I had to fight against them, nasty bunch..."

"Don't think so. Normal criminals never trigger my precognitive abilities." sighed Rei.

"Then we should simply be more alert, waiting for something to show up." concluded Ami.

"Agreed" they all said. Then Usagi raised a hand. Having gathered the attention of her friends, she pointed at a nearby building out of the window. "The red storm with blue lightning over the Fashion Outlet Building qualifies?" she said unfazed.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Four minutes and a sailor transformation later, the five friends stood near the entrance of the building. The red wind was strong enough to push away anyone not possessing the unnatural strength of a Sailor Senshi, and the blue lightning was laying waste of any object too close to the storm. The police was unable to reach the entrance, and so were the firefighters trying to evacuate the building. Obviously an air rescue by helicopter was even more out of question.

"Have you tried to call the Outer Senshi?" Ami asked Minako, while analyzing the storm with her visor.

"Useless, they are in Europe for Michiru's first solo violin tour." answered Sailor Venus.

Ami, still scanning the storm with the Mercury computer, was mumbling to herself. "Strange... It seems the storm is not really a physical presence..."

A cerulean lightning bolt struck a nearby car, pulverizing it and making Sailor Moon yelp.

"Seems physical enough to me..." Sailor Jupiter said through clenched teeth. "Let's see... if we cannot enter the building from the main entrance... than we open a new one! _**Sparkling... Wide... Pressure!**_" she channeled electrical power through her hands, forming a ball of lightning, swiftly hurling it at the side of the building. With a thunderous boom the wall caved in, opening a way to enter the building.

Awestruck, the other Sailor Senshi stood immobile for a moment. "Mako-chan!" Sailor Mercury complained. "Some poor victim could have stood near that wall!"

"Eh, you are right... s-sorry" stuttered Jupiter embarrassed.

"No time to dawdle, let's go inside!" Sailor Mars quickly moved in the building, braving the strong winds. The others followed shortly, except Sailor Moon.

Looking at the strange storm she made a sad expression "I should have called Mamoru... i don't like this, not at all. It's happening too fast." then she slapped her cheeks, put on a brave face and followed her friends.

The inside of the building was eerily quiet. A red glow from the windows was the only source of light, the electrical system shorted out by the storm raging outside. Occasionally a blue flash and the crackle of lightning broke the silence.

"Where are the customers? There's no one here." Sailor Venus asked. Sailor Moon nodded, thinking about the safety of the innocent bystanders.

"My visor shows them here, with us." Sailor Mercury replied warily.

"But no one is here! This floor is deserted." Sailor Jupiter looked around, searching for someone.

Sailor Mercury activated her computer and started to analyze the data feed from her sensor glasses "The storm is actually a fluctuation in the quantum matrix membrane. Our senses cannot really perceive it. What we see is a physical echo of the effects it have on the space-time continuum. The customers are locked away in a pocket dimension sealed by a five dimensional hyperspace fold. Their time correlation variable is almost zero. Probably they are not aware of the situation. Fortunately for them and for us, they are safe, at least for now. But we must release them before the storm increase its power, or they risk being lost forever ... elsewhere!"

The collective reply of her friends was a puzzled "Eeeeh?" to which the blue haired genius sighed. "They were imprisoned by the storm, locked in an out-of-time non-physical state. They are safe for now, but they will vanish in..." she finished her calculations "27 minutes and 43.5 seconds, if the storm continue to increase at the present rate."

Sailor Venus looked around concerned "Damn! Where should we go then? We must hurry."

"The last floor. The sensation is stronger now. Still not clear though, but it definitely comes from the last floor." Sailor Mars was perplexed; being unable to understand a premonition was normal, but this time she wasn't sure even of having one! It was a strange feeling, like having a vision of doom and at the same time not having it.

"My visor shows me the storm's center on the last floor, as you say. The elevator will be out-of-order, we should take the stairs." she pointed at the safety stairs.

Sailor Moon stared at her friend "What? This building has a hundred floors! Are we supposed to run through all of them?" The bleak look on her friend's face was the only reply needed.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o One hundred floors later o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

"Oooh, my poor legs! Are we there yet? Why it must always be the last floor! Never the ground floor! Go without me, my friends, I will quietly die here..." complained Sailor Moon dramatically.

"Shut up, Usagi, we reached the last floor." panting, Sailor Mars stood beside a sign with number 100 on it.

"Now we defeat the baddies and return to our cakes." Sailor Jupiter opened the safety door, warily peeking in. "All clear, let's go." she said entering the door.

They followed her into a maze of corridors, awash in a strange light, red and blue, the walls covered by a crystalline substance of prismatic colors. Sailor Mercury analyzed it. "It's incredible! This crystal... cannot exist. It violates all the known chemical rules. It should be impossible, at least without changing the fundamental physical constants!"

"And?" asked Sailor Moon, not really understanding anything at all.

The reply from Sailor Mercury surprised them "And... it seems to be the case! Until now we had to cope with magical and physical energies, but it seems that this storm is actually unrelated to any known effect, and at the same time is a very simple weather phenomena. I... do not understand."

"Don't worry Ami!" Sailor Moon replied smiling. "I never understood anything of your techno talk until now, but we still won every time!"

"Eh, wonder why this doesn't make me feel better?" replied Mercury.

"Girls!" shouted Sailor Venus, "Look!" they had reached the rooftop balcony.

Outside the protective shell of the building, the storm raged around two people. One of them was a balding, middle-aged man, wearing an expensive business suit. The other was a young woman, no more than twenty, dressed in cheap clothing. The two of them had their hands raised at each other, as if they were trying to push themselves with the power of the mind.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Shouted Jupiter trying to be heard against the roar of the storm.

"It's them!" Answered Sailor Mars, "Their battle is causing the storm! I can feel it!" She looked at Mercury.

"It's true! The power they are releasing is incredible! The strangest thing is that it should have destroyed the city by now, the storm is far too small for such a display of power. Unless..."

"Then we will try to stop them." Sailor Moon walked against the wind, trying to reach the two. "Please! Stop the storm! Your are damaging the city, and endangering lives!" she shouted, hoping to defuse the situation without using force. She raised her Eternal Tiare however, ready to use it.

"Sailor Moon, wait! They are outside reality, in a bubble of folded space, they can't hear us!" finished Sailor Mercury. "Most of their power is raging inside the bubble. If they stop their duel, the bubble will collapse, releasing the power over the city! We must raise a barrier, to prevent the explosion, or the entire Japan will be razed!"

"The entire Japan! Whoa! How much power do they have?" amazed, Sailor Jupiter assumed nonetheless the barrier positions they already used against Pharoh-90, and her friends grimly followed suit.

"It is not their own power. They are channelling energy from other dimensions, an infinite number of them. This shouldn't be possible!" Sailor Mercury was still befuddled by the contradictory readings of her sensor glasses.

Bravely stepping forward, Eternal Sailor Moon raised her weapon. "I will try to reach them without breaking the bubble, I have already done it in the past." she said moving near the storm while her friends raised a barrier.

"Be careful Usagi! The power of Pharaoh-90 originated only from the Tau Nebula dimension. This storm it is many times more powerful!" warned Sailor Mercury.

Eternal Sailor Moon calmly looked at her friend "The power of our enemies never stopped me from trying, Ami-chan, you know it. We have no choice but to go forward." That said, she entered the center of the storm, vanishing from sight for a moment. The next instant she appeared near the two combatants.

Usagi found herself unable to move further. The wind raged around her immobilizing her movements. The lightning, thundering with each strike, threatened to hit her. She looked at the two madmen who caused all of this. They were talking to each other.

"Even if you stopped my poisoning device, you will fall Runner! Praise the Faceless One, i will deliver this world to his realm! Now die already!" shouted the man, sounding really evil.

"I will never, ever concede to the likes of you scum! I understand your motivations, but i cannot forgive your actions, go to hell and say hello to your master for me!" with these words the woman unleashed a barrage of red wind gusts, hitting the man and making him falter. Only for a moment, however. Looking at the woman with horrible eyes, devoid of any light, he raised his power to match hers and unleashed blue lightning, striking her and causing obvious pain.

Usagi could not stand idle anymore. fighting the strength of the wind, she raised the Eternal Tiare and called out "You two, stop immediately! Or I, Eternal Sailor Moon, guardian of peace and justice, will punish you in the name of the moon!"

The man scoffed at her threat, the woman was instead amazed. "S-Sailor Moon? Awesome! I am a fan of yours and... ah, forget that! You should go away immediately, you are in danger here! And... how the hell you managed to enter the storm? No one else should be able to do that!" she said disbelieving.

The man noticed the woman's distraction. "An opening! Die Runner!" he said as the blue lightning struck the woman, making her double over in pain.

Usagi decided that the man was definitely evil. She raised the Tiare shouting "_**Starlight... Honeymoon... Therapy... Kiss!**_" releasing a beautiful pink light beam hitting the man in full.

"Arrrgh!" he screamed, obviously in extreme pain. The lightning lessened somewhat.

"I don't understand, this power should heal or purify, not cause pain." thought Usagi, unsure to continue attacking or to stop. "What's happening?"

The storm started to unravel as the man, brutally battered by the wind, raised his face looking at the Sailor Senshi with dead eyes. "You fool! You broke the barrier blocking the maelström ... sealing the fate of our world. The storm will rage on! Ha ha ha ha! I won! Thank you, Sailor idiot!" then he started to vanish!

"What? I..." Usagi stuttered terrified and unsure. She remembered the warning Ami gave her. "How could my healing power burst the bubble thingy?"

The woman recovered from the pain, shouting with grit in her voice. "Oh no! You are not fading away on me! Take this and good riddance! _**Storming... Maelström!**_"

Releasing with an obvious effort an enormous gust of wind, the woman blasted the man away, his screaming body multiplying in infinite copies, each one fading away in a different part of the storm. The original one was hurled in the sky, disintegrating painfully in a shower of blue sparks!

A relieved expression appeared on the face of the woman. She grabbed Sailor Moon hands' dancing in the wind with obvious joy. "I made it! I made it! Another one bites the dust! Yeah!"

"Uh yes, but, shouldn't the storm scatter?" Asked Sailor Moon.

"Eh? Y-yes, you are right. Why the hell the wind isn't going away?" Worried she looked around her. "I won the duel, the storm should subside. Something is not right!"

"Then, if you don't know what you are doing I will disperse it!" She aimed her Tiare at he storm around them and unleashed her power again: "_**Starlight... Honeymoon... Therapy... Kiss!**_"

The pink light however was having no effect whatsoever. The storm had thinned out, but only because it was expanding throughout the district.

"This thing is out of control!" Shouted Sailor Venus at her friends.

"We can't contain it anymore! It's escaping our barrier!" Sailor Jupiter replied.

Mercury increased her concentration "We should have faith in Sailor Moon, stand fast!"

Sailor Mars said nothing, her premonitions remaining uncertain despite the danger. "This is driving me crazy!" she thought.

Inside the center of the storm, the woman grabbed Usagi by the shoulders. "I understand now. It's dead but I have not won in time. The energy is not in me. It's still in the storm! Your attack disrupted the maelström? but no one is supposed to be capable of interfering in a reality duel!"

Sailor Moon was starting to be annoyed by the woman attitude. "How could I know that? And it was not an attack! It was purifying light! Healing! I don't use violence!"

"Healing? You were trying to purify it? It was a Void! Without soul or conscience, only spite. There was nothing to be healed!" she shouted at her angrily.

"Your light probably restored some of its feelings from when it was alive, causing it pain. But the light also broke the barrier containing the maelström! My wind overwhelmed the void but I couldn't disperse the power we unleashed, because you already released it!"

"Your light is limited by this world's axioms. As an Ord you stand no chance... I must try something before the maelström destroys us!"

Sailor Moon did not like her tone of voice, she emphasized the strange word, 'Ord', as something bad. Somewhat pissed, Usagi was anyway trying to help, "What can 'we' do?"

"'You' will do nothing. 'I' will try to shunt all of his power away. Use the time to get away out of the area or try to aid your friends and be useful for a change!" she barked at her.

Trying to leave the 'bubble' as instructed, Sailor Moon replied, "I don't like your manners. Not at all! But... good luck anyway."

After a short time she was out of the storm's center, adding her power to the barrier, to the relief of her friends. "I hope she'll succeed or we will be very sorry indeed."

Inside the storm, the woman braved the wind, now out of control. Opening wide her arms she shouted. "_**In thy name... Apeiros!**_"

The storm answered, the wind increasing in strength but starting to concentrate around the woman. In the end, the wind formed a tall vortex, first piercing a hole in the sky and then being sucked into it, in a shower of red and blue sparks.

The Sailor Senshi barrier held until the end, when it shattered completely. Screaming, the girls were lifted by the wind, then pushed away and at the same time dragged inside the vortex. In a last infinite moment they saw themselves sprawled on the roof and thrown in the sky, then they lost consciousness.

Usagi's last thought was for her loved one. "Mamoru..."

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o some time later o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Usagi's first words were; "Mmmmommm, letshmesleep five miuthes mooore..."

Something was tickling her lower back. "Mom, please! I'm so tired and hungry... I..."

She suddenly remembered the battle on the rooftop! opening her eyes she immediately tried to stand up. She failed, falling on the hard rocky soil. She felt so weak! Like a newborn baby. Looking around she saw her friends beside her. Then she noticed they were all stark naked!

The sailor uniforms vanished without giving them back their civilian clothes! Fortunately no one was looking at them. In fact, they were not in the fashion outlet building, or in Juuban anymore. The rocky ground, bare and arid, the cold wind, and...

Rolling on her back she gazed at the sky. It was full of strange stars of all colors! And two moons, one white and large, another small and blue-green!

Her friends awakened and rapidly realized their situation. They were speechless, save Minako, who tried to play it down. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kentucky anymore." she managed to say, awed.

"I'm pretty sure it was Kansas." replied Ami dryly, staring at the alien sky.

No one of them noticed the mysterious woman sprawled unconscious a few meters away nor the furry tails that were growing rapidly from their lower backs...


	2. Chapter 2: Strangers in a strange land

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

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**Author's notes: **

**Sunshinekc - **Thanks for the review! The story will be long and complicated. Expect funny moments and dramatic ones. The Senshi never lost their power, they only lost their transformation wands

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**Chapter two: Strangers in a strange land.**

Trying again to get up, Usagi breathed wearily. "Anyone feeling weak? I'm so heavy I cannot even stand!" she sat on the hard soil, wondering where they ended up.

"I don't think we are weak, Usagi." replied Ami. "We are probably on a high density planet. Do you remember the gravity field Rubeus used against us three years ago? The effects are quite similar, if not equally strong." Her friends nodded understanding.

Makoto managed to stand up unsteadily, thanks to her greater strength. She looked around, and then made a surprised expression. "Usagi! Your hair... is black! Totally black! Minako's too!"

The two girls immediately examined their precious blonde hair, turned straight and raven black. "I'm going to transform into Rei! Aieee!" yelled Usagi, looking terrified.

Her reaction obviously made Rei angry. "Then you will acquire some brains, you idiot!" she yelled back at her.

"How it is possible?" asked Minako, distraught with the occurrence but keeping a cool head.

"I don't know, really... but my hair is black too, and Makoto's. And not only the hair, the eyes too. We all have black hair and eyes. Must be a side effect of what brought us here." calmly explained Ami.

It was Usagi, always ready to be frightened, to notice the brown hairy thing wriggling behind Minako's lower back. "M-Minako-chan! Be careful, there's a hairy snake on your back!" she yelled.

Minako hated snakes... "Eeeek! Pull it off, pull it off!" she shouted panicking. Makoto, being the only one capable of standing up, made an effort and grabbed the scary, hairy thing, trying to pull it off Minako. It refused to come off however, and Minako immediately stopped screaming, started trembling, and then collapsed face first upon the ground.

Makoto understood immediately the thing she was grasping was a tail, growing out of Minako's lower back! Letting it go she looked behind, only then noticing her very own tail waving behind her! They all had grown tails, hairy brown tails.

"This is madness!" whispered Rei looking at the furry appendages. "How it is possible?" she asked Ami.

The smart girl was examining her own tail, making it wave, grabbing a stone with it, then trying, only for an instant, to grab it. "It seems we have grown a prehensile tail, like a Lemur's. It is very sensitive to pain, so I suggest you to wrap it around your waist, for safety reasons." she did just that. "Actually it is quite comfortable to keep it so."

"I asked how it was possible, not for a user manual!" Complained Rei, while trying to wrap the damned thing around her waist.

"Uh, it is funny! Look Rei! You can scratch your back with it! We are monkeys! Uuuk uuuk!" told her Usagi, mimicking a chimp, and making Rei madder.

"Uusaagiiiiii!" Rei growled, going in I'm-going-to-kill-you mode. She managed to stand up trying to catch her.

The two girls started an impromptu game of tag, soon followed by the other three girls, trying to prevent Rei from catching Usagi. Laughing they started to move faster and faster, and finally were able to move without difficulty.

Panting from the effort, Ami looked at her body, standing up easily. "It's incredible that we have already acclimated ourselves to the high gravity. Our bodies cannot be human." Then she noticed the mysterious woman, still senseless but fully clothed, sprawling on the ground. Ami remembered her having brown hair, but now she was black-haired, like them. She had also grown a brown tail poking out from under her skirt. "She must know what happened. We should ask her." she suggested.

"You bet, I'll ask her!" growled Makoto, reaching the woman and turning her face up. "Wake up, you scum! Tell us where we are and what you have done to us!" she said while repeatedly slapping her on the face. "Wake up!" she said again kicking her.

Usagi flinched. "Mako-chan! What are you doing! Don't hit her! What's wrong?"

"It's her fault we are here, turned into monkeys. This is what's wrong!" Blushing, she put her foot on the neck of the woman, just the moment she woke up.

"Yes, Makoto, you are right! It's all her fault!" Minako caught up with her friend and started kicking the woman.

"Yeah! Let's make her suffer!" Added Rei joining them.

Ami blushed intensely, moving near them, without kicking the defenseless woman but encouraging the other three girls "Ooh, yes! Hit her!"

Usagi was speechless. Her dear friends turned into naked and bestial brutes, lynching a poor defenseless woman! "All of you! What are you doing? Please, calm down!" but they kicked on, ignoring her and their victim's yelps of pain. Almost in trance, they were clearly enjoying it!

This had to be a nightmare. She could not bear it anymore. Raising her voice Usagi started crying. "Stop it NOW! Or I won't be your friend anymore! Uaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

The four girls stopped immediately, panting heavily, not of exhaustion but out of excitement and bewilderment. Usagi's crying made them realize what they were doing.

"Oh, no! Usagi! I'm so sorry! I don't know why... oh!" Makoto whimpered falling on her knees distraught.

Rei and Minako were horrified of themselves and looked at each other speechless.

Ami knelt beside the woman. "I am mortified of our behavior. Let me help you." she appeared dejected, trying to look at the woman's wounds. Surprisingly she found none. Only some light bruises.

"Hmm, thank you kiddo. I'm not actually hurt, at least not seriously. Not for any lack of trying, though." the woman said between clenched teeth, standing up with ease.

Usagi stopped crying, consoled by her friends. "Usagi-chan, thank you for making us stop. I'm really sorry for what I have done." Makoto and Minako embraced her friend, while Rei stood silent, looking down.

"What the heck are you five doing here?" asked the woman sincerely puzzled. "You should not be supposed to follow me Running!" At the same time she was stripping her clothes off, smiling dryly. "Use this to make something to wear, you exhibitionist!"

"Exhibitionists?" Usagi really could not stand this anymore! "YOU brought us here, while we were trying to block YOUR storm from devastating OUR city! We awoke naked, black-haired and with TAILS! In this ... this place! Were the hell are we? And who are you? And why all of this had to happen to us? BRING US BACK HOME, NOW!" she yelled, and then started crying again.

While she could cope with lynching, the woman clearly had a soft spot for crying girls. "OK, I'm sorry. Really sorry. I don't know where we are... but I will try to answer your other questions. First, put something on." she replied tearing her skirt and t-shirt to make impromptu loincloths and breast bands for the girls to wear.

Still sobbing, Usagi looked at the woman working promptly to make some minimal clothing for all of them. She was wearing a black sporting bra and matching trunks beneath her clothing. "You sure use strange underwear..." she muttered.

"When you Run like me, you wear for comfort, kiddo." the woman replied.

"You talk as you were older than us, but you cannot be more than twenty. Aren't you, miss?" asked Rei, a little pissed by her patronizing way of speaking.

"Uh... Actually I'm one hundred years old, kiddo. More or less. I lost count after the fifth Run." she replied.

While the girls stood with their mouths agape, the woman started to methodically check her body. "Two eyes, mouth... pointed teeth... small fangs... uh sensitive nose, what's this smell? Two ears, rounded. Black hair... will do... what we have here? A tail? Cute... ouch, sensitive too!" she yelped after squeezing her tail.

"Better to wear it around your waist, Miss." suggested Ami, who had already recovered from the shock of discovering her advanced age. "You seem very young, Miss. How can it be possible?" She asked, thirsty for answers.

"Eh, eat your vegetables and do a lot of sport!" the woman replied, obviously joking.

"Aw, don't make fools of us!" pouted Usagi.

"You seem to be as surprised as we are of your body, Miss. Really, can you tell us something more of this situation?" Asked Makoto, still embarrassed for her violent behavior just a few minutes ago.

"I will but, as for now, we should find shelter. The sun is at noon, yet this place is cold and could become chilling overnight." She pointed to the small, cold red sun they had mistaken for a far off star.

Minako was amazed "That is a sun? I thought it was already night! This place is way strange!"

"Temperature is not too cold for that distant sun being the primary star; this system is probably a binary one." Replied Ami pondering on the sky.

"You are a smart one, uh? Yes, you are probably right. I've never seen planets with two suns before. Cool" Remarked the woman. "Do you have any idea where to find shelter, kiddo?" she asked Ami.

"I smell metal!" Makoto told her, trying to be helpful. "That way." pointing in the middle of the rocky wasteland.

"Now that you told me, I smell it too!" Replied Usagi. "I smell something else... maybe Rei's feet?" she started sniffing around her friend.

"Usaaaaagiii!" Rei growled angrily while her friends started smiling.

"You are a carefree bunch, aren't you? Well, the first we get somewhere the first you'll have your answers. Metal means civilization, and civilization means a bath, and sure I could use a bath now! Let's go." She said walking at a brisk pace towards the source of the smell.

"No one made you the leader, Miss. Anyway you are right, I want a bath too! Even a shower or a bucket of water will do. My hair is a mess... black... sheesh." Minako grumbled walking after her.

And so they all followed the strange smell, wandering deep into the wasteland.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o A few hours later o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

"Are we there yet? Rei, I'm starving!" whimpered Usagi, tugging Rei's tail, her tummy growling like a caged, starving lion.

"Owww, stop that, Usagi! It's painful! And I'm hungry too." She replied, while all of their stomachs started to grumble in sympathy.

"Our new sense of smell must be on par with a hound's! We walked at least ten miles! It's amazing we could smell metal from such a great distance!" Ami told them, sniffing the air. "I can discriminate the distinctive smell of each one of you, and guess your distance using only my nose. This is great! I will write a paper on it when we return home."

"'If' we return home. I still don't know how we came here and why." Replied Rei looking at the woman.

"Patience, kiddo, we are almost there. Look at those hills! The bumps over there must be buildings. A last effort and we're good." She told them, her stomach also rumbling. "I hope for some food, too. I'm so hungry I'd eat my sandals!"

"At least 'you' have sandals! Me, had to hike ten miles barefoot in this rocky wasteland!" whined Usagi, looking sadly down at her rags and bare feet. "My poor, poor feet!"

"Really, you can have them." She shrugged while taking off her sandals and giving them to Usagi. The girl took them with teary eyes, as large as a fawn's.

"You should have told me before. I'm used walking barefoot. Once I had to live three years almost naked and barefooted with three-meters-tall blue cat-people! It's incredible what you can become used to with time."

"T-thank you but... I still don't like you!" Usagi replied while mischievously sticking her tongue at her.

The woman started laughing heartily. "Oh, you sure are a feisty one, aren't you? Oh look at that! We made it. Buildings!" she pointed to a cluster of strange small buildings.

They looked like hard concrete bubbles, four meters wide, piled one upon the other, three bubbles high and wide tops. They had round openings as windows and doorways, but no glasses or doors were present. Numerous destroyed metal devices were scattered in the large square between buildings. There were no roads, but a more traveled path showed signs of wheels and tracks. A wrecked fence made of strange metal and glass poles extended as far as the horizon from north to south, just outside the small town.

"What is this place? These machines are rusted through; they must have been abandoned a long time ago." Ami pointed out.

"Look! Are those... bones?" They all followed her gaze, immediately finding what she was talking about.

A small number of human looking skeletons were scattered between the machines or under them. They all had tails!

"It looks like the machines were used to trample them!" Makoto said grimly.

"This one has a bullet-like hole in the skull. They were killed, but they didn't go down without fighting. Look at this." The woman was showing them a skeleton with his bony claws 'inside' one of the machines, as it were able to wreck it bare handed before dying.

"Let's search inside the buildings, maybe we will find something useful." Makoto shouted, waving at them from a nearby door frame.

They warily searched the buildings, finding boxes upon boxes of foam like material, stuffed with canned foods, dozens of strange coarse fabric tunics with rope belts and canvas shoes, cheap blankets and thin mattresses. There were skeletons in every building, some wearing the strange tunics, some in tattered fur clothing. All with tails and with clear signs of having been killed with some type of firearms. There were no bodies of their enemies though.

"This place is creeping me out!" Whispered Minako. "It looks like a ghost town! It's like the skeletons will rise overnight to kill us!" She said shivering.

"Hey, girls! I found something interesting." Usagi was rummaging under a ruined desk. She showed them a huge ledger. "Maybe we will find some answers here!" She said hopefully.

"Usagi, you moron! That book has surely been written in alien characters! You won't be able to read it." snapped Rei, always ready to pick on her.

"Aw, but... I will try anyway, Rei you meanie!" She told her sticking out her tongue. Opening the book, to her friend's amazement she read aloud what was written into it. The woman was grinning, almost as if she knew beforehand Usagi would be able to read it.

"_Royal Tsufuru Bureau of Saiyan Affairs... Office of the North Western Saiyan Agent... Report on the unexpected population growth of the Saiyan Galangal tribes... Proposed tribe displacement to reduce the population to manageable numbers... _Aw I don't like the sound of this! _Proposed decrease of funds for clothing and food... _Oh that's evil! _Natural park reserve status waived for Grokk breeding... _What's a Grokk? Anyone understands these things?" Usagi asked confused.

After a long minute of silence, Ami spoke up. "We are in a Reservation. A 'Saiyan' Reservation! And judging by those skeleton's tails and the clothes they were wearing... we have Saiyan bodies now!"

"How is it possible? I'm going crazy with all this!" Moaned Minako.

"Let's search for something to make a fire, and then I will explain what I can." The woman told them. "And some drinkable water too... I'm thirsty now." She started breaking some of the boxes. "I hope this will burn well. We can use a stone and some scrap metal for flint and steel."

Makoto smiled at her. "You have some experience with camping?" she asked her.

The woman continued to work, without looking at the tall girl. "Nope. I'm good at surviving. Let's speed up, it's growing dark. I don't want to meet a Grokk without a burning fire, whatever it is."

Usagi scowled at her. "Uh, what a jerk! Makoto was praising you! Why you must be so cold with us?"

Makoto took hold of Usagi's arm, trying to stop her friend from picking a quarrel with the stranger. "Usagi, it really doesn't matter, please..."

Looking at her friend's pleading expression, Usagi decided to let it go, for now. "OK, but no mysteries from now on! Understood?" she told sternly.

"I can't make promises, kiddo. But I'm sorry for what happened, really sorry." She smiled sadly.

"Hey, girls! Let's open some canned food! Maybe it's still good!" Said Minako, starting to open one of the airtight foil cans.

"Wait, Minako... not here!" gasped Ami, too late.

A horrendous, stinking, stomach-churning smell was released from the can! They were immediately overwhelmed, thanks to their vastly improved sense of smell.

"Arrrgh, throw it away! Throw it away! For heaven's sake!" Shouted the woman.

Rei, Usagi and Makoto started throwing up immediately, while Minako almost fainted, letting the can fall down. Ami, braving the terrible smell, kicked the can, throwing it out of the windows, to fall in the square.

"Ow! That was terrible! Minako you dummy! That can was years old! It was obviously spoiled!" Ami scolded her.

"Oh, my! What an experience... You made us discover a wonderful new meaning for the word 'stink', Mina-chan!" Usagi told her trying to recover her strength.

"It seems we will have to do without food. Let's try one of that cans of water... in the square!" Makoto said, getting outside.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

The water proved to be drinkable, and they managed to start a reasonable campfire in one of the highest rooms cleared of rubble and furnished with lots of blankets and mattresses. They also wore the tunics and shoes, after cleaning themselves with an improvised shower made from a punctured can of water. They were still very hungry, but at least they felt human once again... if that was still possible for them.

"It's answer time, Miss." calmly stated Usagi, looking at the woman who brought them there. All of her friends nodded.

"OK kiddos, I'll tell you what I can." She shifted her seating to be more comfortable and started to speak, while fiddling with her tail.

"My name is Jean. Jean J. Walker. It's not my real name. Can't remember it. This name was given to me by friends. I'm a Runner. And before you ask me, Runners are people... cursed by their inability to accomplish anything in life and... longing for impossible dreams." She stopped talking for a moment, obviously lost in memories.

"I mean... we... there are others like me, many others... could not live a satisfying life. Could not accept the dreariness of the mundane. At the same time, we feared the unknown. Torn between extremes we accomplished absolutely nothing in our life, simply weathering it until the sorry end." She said wearily.

"Uh! This is terrible, Miss Walker!" Usagi interrupted her. "It must have felt really bad!"

Jean smiled at her. "Yeah, I felt bad. Very bad indeed. I was on my death-bed, trying to sleep over those cursed beeping medical machines, when I started dreaming. Lucid dreaming. In the dream I met the... stinking demon-thing that conned me into this crap, the Faceless One. He offered me to fulfill all of my daydreams of glory and excitement in exchange for my 'unrealized possibilities', whatever they were." She kicked angrily a stone on the floor, remembering the day it all started.

"I was dying, I thought I had nothing to lose, so I accepted and the next moment I'm young again, partially amnesic, on a strange star ship. Cruising into the same red and blue storm you saw over that skyscraper yesterday. I befriended the crew. the ship broke down. I helped them repair it and lost myself in the storm... dying an ugly death. And then it started again." She scratched her head, looking at their doubtful faces.

"I'm being honest to you, I swear kiddos. The routine is always the same. I awaken in a strange new world, ship, place, anything. Sometimes I'm changed. I've been male, female, even androgynous! I gained pointed ears, gills and tails. Yes, this is not my first tail. The blue cat people's was the first one. In every world I go, I make friends... even lovers. Once I was on the point of marrying... sad story, don't make me remember it." She said scowling at the romantic look spreading on Minako face.

"I always lose everything, though. I always find myself involved in some crisis, local or planetary, doesn't make difference. And to save the day... I die. It is as simple as that. Then the cycle restarts, they call it a "Run", and I awake somewhere else. I "Run" my dreams of adventure; therefore I'm a "Runner", is it clear?"

"Aw... This is horrible! I'm so sorry for you!" Usagi told her, on the verge of crying. Minako and Makoto were clearly sad for her, while Rei and Ami, looking at each other, had something else to ask.

"Excuse me, Miss Walker. What the things you spoke of have to do with the battle on the rooftop we saw you in, and with us being here?" Ami asked politely.

The woman nodded at her. "Call me Jean, kiddo. I'm not so high-strung to require pleasantries. Anyway... on that roof I was fighting a Void in a reality duel."

"A... Void? I don't like the name. Remembers me the Youma, Droids, Daimons and Phages we used to fight in the past." Makoto whispered to herself.

"He was scary." Added dryly Usagi, the only one of them seeing it up close. "He had empty eyes and hollow voice, and looked.. I don't know... too normal? A normal man turned totally evil. Not the usual colorful monsters we face. He was more like Beryl's generals, Rubeus, Eudial or any of our human enemies, I don't know if I can explained myself well." She shuddered at the thought of their past enemies, and the suffering they put them through.

"Yeah. They once were humans, but they lost it. Humanity I mean. They become followers of the Faceless One, and usually only want to destroy everything. They have strange powers, and can be killed only in a reality duel, by putting one's existence at stake. When the duel starts, only one of the two lives through. If the Void wins, the runner is erased from existence. Else, the Void is dispersed between infinite universes, and cannot ever reform. I was following that one since last year. I was afraid of directly confronting him. Then I saw from afar your battle against that Galaxia hag. You inspired me, so I took the decision to draw him out by interfering in his plans, and then challenged him in his home turf. The rest is history." She relaxed against the wall, finally having explained it all.

"If you knew, why didn't you come to us for help?" Usagi asked her. "I was wondering the same" Added Rei.

"Ords cannot start a reality duel. Only Runners can. It was my responsibility. And I was right. By meddling you managed to be thrown here with me. Tsk, rash kiddos." She said wearily.

"Again! What in the hell Ord means?" Usagi was starting to be pissed again.

"Uh, sorry, wasn't meant to be insulting. It only means 'Ordinary' in a certain sense of the word. You can be the most powerful super woman of your universe, but if you are an Ord and a Void or a Runner challenges you in a reality duel... you are a goner, no sweat! You lack Karma, and cannot win. Ever. Hope that clears to you." She was tired, even more than them. Evidently the effort to neutralize the storm had drained her.

"Karma? What's this? It's getting more complicated the more you explain!" Said Rei exasperated.

"It's a measure of the power to twist fate to your ends. A skill only Runners and Voids have. No need to know. Has to do with quantum mechanics and probabilities. Complicated stuff. Too tired... can't think straight." She said almost collapsing from the exhaustion.

Makoto roused her gently trying to keep her awake. "Please, try to tell us why we are here, with these bodies, we must know!"

The woman made an effort to speak, despite her tiredness. "I told you there are many Runners. Some time ago I met one that became my tutor. He taught me the basics of Running. Told me every time I Run, I somehow send my essence, my existence, through the storm, in a process called 'Dimthread'. When I reach a new world my body reforms there, adapting to the local conditions and world laws, 'Axioms' for short." She pointed at their tail.

"Everything is changed every time, to conform to the local axioms. Language, mannerism, instincts, and of course body type. Equipment stays the same however. Sensei told me it is more difficult to send non-living matter. You have to send a lot more info than a few DNA strands and a mental schematic I guess." She looked at Ami, the only one without a befuddled expression of the five friends.

"Are you saying you travel universes by sending data describing your existence through Einstein Rosen wormholes? And when you reform your body you use quantum-entanglement to adapt to the environment? I get it now! The storm was a quantum singularity of immense proportions! This explains the conflicting readings of my scanner and the uncertain feelings of Rei! You used your energy to generate a negative-mass matter stream, stabilize the wormhole and shunt the power of the storm through it! Awesome!" Ami was starry-eyed, clearly enjoying this.

She continued to analyze the situation, despite the confused looks of her friends. The Runner was smiling wearily. "We got overwhelmed by the storm's strength and thrown through the wormhole... hem, dimthread, as you call it. We adapted to the local axioms, like it happens to you every time! During transition our sailor transformation was discontinued, and our transformation wands weren't brought with us, as they are made of non-living high-energy matter. Our clothes were stored in the wands, so we ended up naked. Am I right?"

"Eeeeh?", "Ugh, I'm getting a headache!", "...", "Hem, Ami, what?" were the comments of the other four girls.

Jean winked at Ami. "Straight to the point. Good reasoning kiddo... I... was trying... to leave... quantum physics... out of this... b-but... it seems... you nailed it..." She finally fell asleep.

"There she goes..." Makoto said with a dry smile, covering Jean with a blanket. "It's really a weird story, but as weird stories go, ours is weirder." she sat down near the fire, her stomach grumbling loudly. "Man, I'm so hungry..."

"That's it! We'll go hunt one these Grokk things! If they used to breed them here, there must be some in the hills! We can make up spears with shards of metal from the wrecks and..." Usagi was so hungry to begin ranting.

"Usagi-chan. It is pitch black outside. We will have to wait dawn." Ami told her.

"But I'm so hungry I could die any moment! Please, pretty please, pretty please with sugar on top! We can make torches and go hunting now! I... AM... HUNGRY!" She started shrieking... and something answered her, straight down from the town square!

**GROOOOOOAAAAAWWWWRRR!**


	3. Chapter 3: Creature comforts

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

* * *

**Chapter three: Creature comforts**

"What's that? Did you hear it?" Usagi stopped crying, her hairs standing up straight from fear.

Minako tried to take a look at the beast out of the window, failing due to the deep darkness. "An animal of some kind... maybe as hungry as we are. Lucky us, we are safe here, at the third floor!"

"Minako, beware! Don't stick out of the window! You are against the light!" Shouted Ami trying to catch her friend and yank her back.

A great dark shape jumped more than twenty feet up from the square floor, smashing against the concrete wall of the building. Huge claws scraped at the window, trying to support the enormous weight of the beast. A hideous, fanged snout snapped at Minako, missing her barely!

She fell backwards over Ami, shouting nervously. "Eek! Stay away from me!" She took a burning stick from the bonfire, throwing it towards the slavering muzzle.

The beast bit again, this time chewing on the improvised torch, completely ignoring the fire! The five girls could not believe their eyes! Usagi was terrified. "It guzzled a burning stick! It will find the way in and eat us whole!"

Makoto, acting from instinct, thrown herself at the head of the creature, holding it with her arms in a vice-like grip, trying to keep its mouth closed. The beast, pushing with its hind legs, managed to partially squeeze in the room, freeing its forepaws. It started to claw at Makoto's back! The girl grunted in pain, without releasing her grip.

Usagi, looking at the long bloody gashes the beast was carving in her friend's back joined the fight. "No! Leave Makoto alone!" She grabbed one of the claws, trying with all her might to keep it down. Minako, having regained her footing, launched herself at the other paw, immobilizing it in the same way.

After a few instants, Rei and Ami rushed to aid them. The five girls wrestled with the beast for a long time. Then, screaming out loud, Makoto managed to snap the neck of the beast! It relaxed in death, falling in the square below.

"Mako-chan!" Crying, Usagi supported her friend, about to fall down. "Ami-chan, she is horribly wounded!"

The four girls tried to help, her blood staining their clothes. Then a dry voice startled them. "It's just a flesh wound. Don't chicken out, kiddos!" the Runner was looking at them with utter calm.

"How can you say that? You... cold hearted..." Usagi was very angry and scared for her friend's life. She wanted to punch the uncaring woman.

Trying to administer first aid, Ami found out the Runner was right. "Usagi-chan! She's right! Look at the wounds; they are not serious at all! But then, from where all this blood..."

Makoto opened her eyes, smiling. "Yeah, I'm fine; you are not wounded, aren't you?" She asked them while Ami was tearing a blanket to bandage her.

The four girls nodded, they were fine. "Oh, I'm relieved. By the way, it was awesome! We must do it again!" She told them grinning, with conviction, savoring the shocked expressions of her friends.

"You must be joking!" Told her Rei, aghast.

"Not at all. It felt incredible, struggling with that beast bare handed. I felt... more alive. Next time... I want to face one alone. It wasn't fair five to one..." She stopped talking, clearly surprised by her feelings. "What I'm saying? I would have died without your help!" She added embarrassed.

"It's this body instincts, kiddo. Saiyans must be natural warriors. I felt I should not intervene in your fight, so I kept to myself and only reduced your wounds with Karma after the duel. And yes, before you ask, I can do that." told them the Woman, grinning.

Usagi stuck her tongue out at her. "How convenient! Can you manage to conjure up food with your skill?"

"Maybe. Will never know without trying." She closed her eyes, concentrating mightily. The five girls looked at her with growing expectations. "Nope! Sorry, no food!" she replied suddenly

"Agh, you..! Why..." Usagi started complaining, but the woman stopped her. "We may cook that beast though. What do you think? I'm hungry too."

Expressions of delight, followed by gurgling from their stomachs were their answer. They pushed the dead beast into the first floor of the building. Using shards of metal salvaged from the wreckage they gutted and skinned the animal.

Makoto and the Runner were the only ones of the group with experience in the matter. They directed their companions in the gory task, nonetheless completed without complaint, given their hunger. Sometime later the beast was roasting in a huge bonfire. A tantalizing smell made their mouth water in anticipation.

"Oh, I can't wait to eat. Such a good smell! Maybe it was a Grokk, what do you think Ami?" Asked Usagi, barely restraining herself to bite the still cooking meat.

"It's possible. The ledger you found do not describe them, though. I hope it is edible... oh I've never been so hungry in my entire life!" The smart girls replied, hunger in her voice. She licked her lips, in anticipation of the feast.

"Me too!" Added Minako. "I could eat all of it alone!"

"Don't you dare! Don't even dream of it! I must eat something or I will bite you!" Growled menacingly Rei.

"Show some restraint, kiddos! It's almost ready." told them the Runner.

Makoto, being a quasi-professional cook, managed to contain herself despite sharing her friend's feelings. She poked at the enormous roasted body with a wooden stick. "It's ready girls! I'll divide it into portions, there's enough for everyone!" She cut the roasted meat, handing the scalding juicy pieces to her friends.

Soon enough, the steady noise of ravenous eating was the only sound in the building. For more than two hours the six women methodically consumed the enormous meal. Only when they had picked the bones clean they finally allowed themselves to speak.

"Oh, I can't believe I have eaten so much! We'll have abdominal cramps!" whispered Ami astounded by her lack of restraint.

"Let me tell you, Ami-chan. I'm a professional glutton and I can assure you, you can take it! Me, I'm still a bit hungry!" Told her Usagi.

"Me too!" Chirped again Minako. "I could have eaten all of it alone!"

Rei smiling scolded her. "We know! You told us earlier. You greedy girl!"

"Man, what a meal! Next time, we try to find some veggies. We can't go on with meat only!" said wisely Makoto.

A huge belch startled them. The girls looked at one another, then they all sweatdropped staring at the Runner. "What? Couldn't I appreciate the meal as well?" She replied unfazed. A general laugh followed.

"Now... while we rest I want to ask you something. I told you my name, Jean. I think is only fair you tell me yours. I know you are the Sailor Senshi. But I cannot call you Sailor This or Sailor That. Mind me, I already know them, you called each other by name all this time, but I like formal presentations. I assure I won't sell them to the press anytime soon." She told them hinting at their present situation.

Usagi raised her hand. "I'm Sailor That! And she is Sailor Those!" She said looking at Rei. "I'm Sailor This!" Added Minako.

"My name is Mizuno Ami, nice to meet you." Ami bowed at the Runner after sitting formally on her knees.

"My name is Jean J. Walker. Nice to meet you too." The woman replied exactly in the same manner.

"Oh, Ami, you damper!" Whined Usagi, then she added maliciously; "I'm Tsukino Usagi, not very nice to meet you!"

"Usagi! What rudeness!" Rei slapped her on the head. This started a tongue duel that kept them occupied for some time. "'My name is Hino Rei, nice to meet you!" she added after Usagi lost the duel biting her tongue.

Makoto and Minako also presented themselves, the woman replying formally each time.

Ami, after the presentations were finished, smiled at the woman. "Jean-san, can you tell us how do you plan to send us back to our world? We left out the question before, as you were too tired, but now..."

"Yep, I get it. Listen up kids." She replied. "I can't dimthread at will. I must defeat a Void and gather up his energies. If we ended up here it means 'there is' a Void to stop. So the first I defeat it, the first we can dimthread out. Cannot be sure 100% to return you to your world, but I can try. Barring that, I'll try to reach the Runner's base. My Sensei can return you for sure. And the good thing is, you will return the same instant you left, thanks to the quantum resynchronization of the alternate universes."

"Oh that's good, whatever it means... But, may we rest now? I feel really tired." Usagi said yawning, with droopy eyes.

"We sleep in turns. Then tomorrow morning we try to search for directions. Anyone volunteering for first turn?" Asked them Jean.

They agreed to leave Usagi asleep. No one trusted her as a sentinel, much to her annoyance. The night went by quietly until the secondary sun dawned, bathing the planet in cold red light.

"Why was I expecting the sun to be red? This planet is truly cliché!" sighed Minako in exasperation. Fortunately for them, the primary sun dawned shortly after, shining with warm gold light.

They divided into three groups of two for a thorough search of the ruins. After an hour, while looking under one of the wrecked vehicles, Ami called them. "Girls! I think I found a strange body! Come here!"

Gathering around the remains, they saw a tiny skeleton, not higher than three feet. It was clothed in a loose fitting uniform, torn and smeared in grime. It was unmistakably humanoid, if very small, and perfectly proportioned. It had a strange device fastened to the skull, right over the left ear, with a clear blue crystal over the left eye. A smashed rifle was left in its arms, clearly not functional.

"It seems very small. Probably to resist the gravity." Said Ami examining the body.

"Uh? With gravity this high wouldn't it be crushed?" Asked her Minako.

"Not necessarily. Muscle power varies accordingly to area, while mass varies with volume. A small body is actually stronger in proportion with height. This minimizes the energy requirement to stay alive. Saiyan bodies are tall and very strong but they need enormous amount of food to keep up. Remember our hunger. This one must be a Tsufuru. It's clearly a case of divergent evolution." Ami replied while carefully removing the device from the skull. "And this, seems to be a sensor device, like my Mercury visor."

"The Tsufurus seem to be very advanced technically, while the Saiyans are primitive. But... can two different sentient species evolve on the same planet? Wouldn't they kill each other until only one remains?" Jean wondered by herself.

"Why people must always kill, maim or destroy? Maybe they coexisted peacefully." Usagi whispered, not really believing it.

"I don't think it is likely. See for yourself, this place is destroyed. The Tsufurus probably retreated after an attack. Ami, can you make something out of that device?" Asked Makoto.

"Yes, I think it is not damaged, at least not completely. I'll try it." She told them while carefully cleaning the grime form the device.

"Yuck! Are you really wearing that thing on your ear?" wailed Usagi disgusted.

"We cannot be squeamish, not in our situation." She replied donning the device. Activating it, the machine beeped while little alien letters showed up on the screen. "I can read it, like Usagi with the ledger."

They all waited holding their breath in anticipation.

"It seems to detect life readings! It gives me only distance and quantity, but not strength. An error message keeps showing up when I try to do that. Maybe it is broken after all. I can't repair it here, but it will be sufficient to give us directions."

"And... where..." Rei interjected.

"There." She pointed at the wasteland, out of the destroyed fence. "We can follow that trail."

Realizing the limits of the device annoyed the Runner. "Great! It could be tracking a bee hive, for what we know!"

"Any direction is fine if we get out of this graveyard!" Usagi replied shivering. "We can gather up water, blankets and mattresses and start walking or continue jabbering until night. I want to reach civilization as soon as possible!"

Jean doubted the Tsufurus would welcome them friendly, but there was always the possibility the Saiyans won the war. "OK, we start as soon as we are ready. Let's go."

Nodding, the girls packed up in no time, then they bravely walked through the fence, out in the wasteland.

Hours later they were still hiking, when Makoto broke their silent advance. "Something is following us. I'm picking up a faint smell since when the wind changed."

This prompted one full minute of sniffing form all the group. They still weren't accustomed to their finer senses.

"I feel it too." Agreed Minako. "Seems similar to that beast's smell."

"Yummy! We may hunt and eat it too! Can we?" Usagi's stomach rumbled again.

"It's dangerous but, I'm so hungry again!" Added Rei looking at her friends.

"Then we must split. Three of us will backtrack trying to move upwind, this way it will not detect them. Then they will shout to scare the beast towards those rocks." The Runner pointed at a group of rocky formations, huddled close together. "We have to draw the beast in a narrow space, to limit its movements." She explained at the girls. "Usagi, Ami and Rei will be the first group. Makoto and Minako, being the fittest ones, will be with me in the attack group. We will kill it with our metal knives." She hinted at the metal shards they used to butcher the first beast. "Makoto managed to kill one barehanded, so with knives, even these junky ones, we should kill it fast. Questions?"

"One!" Usagi raised her hand. "Why I'm in the shouting group?"

"This should be obvious, you airhead!" Rei told at Usagi with a mocking tone. "You are always complaining loudly, so you should not have any problems scaring the beast with your acute, irritating cries!"

"I'm not irritating!"

"Yes, you are!"

"Blblblblblblb!" She stuck her tongue at Rei.

"Blblblblblblb to you!" Rei replied.

"Stop this, you idiots!" The Runner scolded them. "If you have this much energy then start walking. Ami you lead the group, OK?"

"Yes Jean-san. Let's go Usagi-chan, Rei-chan. Try to move without making too much noise." The dependable girl started to move upwind, trying to execute the plan.

"Then let us go to the rocks! We will eat again in no time!" Minako was already walking towards the proposed ambush site. Makoto and Jean followed her.

They examined the site and choose a narrow passage to lie in wait. Sometime later they heard Usagi's high pitched shout and Rei's voice. Ami wasn't contributing much to the shouting but Makoto was sure without her the beast would have never been prodded in the right direction. However Ami was there, so after less than an hour they heard a heavy animal breathing hard while moving between the rocks. At the right moment Makoto shouted to the top of her lungs, jumping out of hiding, stabbing at the huge beast. Minako and Jean followed suit, and plunged their knives in the flanks of the unlucky animal.

The terrified beast tried to maneuver, to bite at them, but the space was too confined. It managed to swipe with its talons at the girls, without much success. It died in less than one minute of struggle.

"Wow, it was easy!" Makoto wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Now we cook it!"

"Yay! Food!" they heard Usagi, finally showing up. The golden primary sun was already sinking.

"I think this beast is not a real predator." Ami told them while they were cooking it.

"It has fangs and claws! How can it not be one?" Replied Rei, puzzled.

"She's probably right." The Runner was thinking the same thing. "Strong it may be, we are newbies hunters at best, and killed it in no time. Maybe it's some sort of farm beast gone wild."

"Sure, it tastes great!" Usagi was already licking her lips. "Dinner time!"

The group produced laborious eating noises for more than an hour. Then they made camp for the night.

"Saiyan bodies must have incredibly efficient digestion mechanisms. I have no problems with physical effort right after lunch. A human will be unable to move." Ami was still taking notes on their new physiology.

They agreed to take turns sleeping, again letting Usagi out of the count. She was thus the first to wake up. "OK, now I'm full of energy! Let's go girls!"

Rei nodded rubbing her eyes . "Usagi is right. We do not know when we will eat again. Better move on fast. Oh, my hair is a mess!"

"Mine too! But I'm not complaining!" Told her Usagi while putting her hair up in the Odango style.

"Less talk, more walking kiddos!" The runner had short hair, so this was not a problem for her.

"Humph!" Usagi ignored her, aiding Minako combing. "You don't seem a woman at all!"

"Maybe I'm not..." Replied the Runner, smiling mischievously. "... sometimes."

Usagi heard the comment but decided against arguing with her. Choosing instead to focus on her friend's hair combing.

When they were finally ready they started hiking again. Ami was still trying to make the best use of the malfunctioning sensor. "The readings indicate we are a lot closer to our target. One more day of marching will get us there."

As Ami predicted, the next day a huge city loomed in front of them. Built in an alien architectural style, it had white walls, towering buildings with rounded windows, and paved roads. There were no parks, no shops, no advertising signs, nothing but white fortress-like buildings. No cars or vehicles were visible, but a lot of flying beings moved fast in the sky, like bees in a hive. Most of them were black haired men and women wearing some sort of uniform.

The girls stood in awe at the strange alien sight. "Not a Tsufuru in sight. I think the Saiyans won their freedom, right? And it resembles a bee-hive!" Minako commented wryly.

Right then, a group of flying beings landed heavily right in front of them. Form their fierce looks they were Saiyans, three males and a female. All stronger looking than they were.

The two groups stared at each other for an instant, then one of the Saiyans started laughing! "Ha ha ha! Look at that trash, boys! Unbelievable! From where they came out?" Soon they all were laughing hard. "Look at their clothing! Those reservation rags! And they came walking! What a pain!"

"Hey! Watch your tongue, you freaks! We had to march through the wasteland to get here! We are tired and hungry, calling us trash is NOT the way to receive guests!" Rei was pissed by their reactions and yelled at them, before the Runner could stop her.

The Saiyan woman, a girl in her twenties, walked face to face with Rei. "If I say you are trash, what you'll do 'bout it? Trash?"

"I'll..." Rei was about to answer when Ami interrupted her. "We acknowledge your superior strength and standing. Can you please tell us where we can find food and a place to rest? We are the last survivors of the Galangal tribe. Our parents were defeated by the Tsufuru and had to run to hide in the wasteland. Now they are dead and we were trying to avenge them." She used the notions learned reading the ledger to spun a believable tale.

The Runner was impressed by her creativity. "Yeah! Tell us where we can find some Tsufurus to kill!" She added for dramatic tension. The other girls understood the situation and started to growl in fake hate.

"Eh? What? Ha ha ha ha ha!" The Saiyans laughed uncontrollably for a while.

"Oh, the best laugh in months, whew! You sure are funny trash! The Tsufurus were killed off decades ago! You are late. We thought the Galangals were all dead too. Turns out six were still alive." One of them managed to say between laughs.

"Hey, can't wait to tell this to the others, they'll like it. But first we kill this trash and be over with it!" Said one of them.

"Eh? Kill us? Are you mad?" Usagi complained, staring at them.

"You are a disgrace to the Saiyan race. You are better dead, and you will be soon!" The female warrior told them, grinning evilly.

"Wait, there's no need to..." Started to say the Runner, interrupted by a slap from the female Saiyan. The strength of the blow threw her against a wall, where she collapsed stunned.

"Jean-san! You evil bastards!" Shouted Makoto preparing to fight. Rei, Minako and Usagi were immediately at her side, while Ami hastened to aid the Runner.

The Saiyan woman took a fighting position, while the others watched. She moved so fast the girls had no time to react, punching Makoto and Minako in the guts and downing them. She booed Usagi in the face, making her stumble backwards into Ami. They fell upon Jean in a pile of bodies and the Saiyaness kicked smashing them upon the wall.

"Weaklings!" She spat, ready to slaughter them, when a cold voice stopped her!

"What are you doing here Nizuki?" A huge mustached Saiyan landed between them. Tall and strong, he dominated the other warriors with only a glance.

"C-Captain Nappa!" The woman snapped at attention. "Our scouters spotted these intruders approaching the city some time ago. We intercepted them and we were about to kill them, sir!"

"Why killing them? Aren't they Saiyans like us?" Asked coldly the man.

"Yes sir! However, they admitted being Galangal tribe survivors. They are the shame of our race, sir!" Another warrior replied.

"Galangals? Ha ha ha ha! They are too young to be the same idiots that were defeated years ago. Must be their offspring. They look miserable to me, untrained rookies. Anyway, why killing them now, when we can have more fun? Let them fight in the training room."

The mighty warrior turned towards the terrified girls. "Look, women. It will be a waste to kill you now. Prove to me you are worthy of living and we will give you something to do. Or die trying, like a true Saiyan!"

All the warriors started laughing.


	4. Chapter 4: Put to the test

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

* * *

**Chapter 4, Put to the test.**

Rei, the only one of them still standing, nodded nervously to the huge Saiyan's proposal. Better to fight later than being killed now. She moved to help her friends, but Captain Nappa had other ideas.

"Pick up these idiots, you four! Bring them to the testing arena number five." He barked to the soldiers.

"Yes sir!" They immediately obeyed, lifting Minako, Usagi, Ami and Jean in the air. The captain took hold of Makoto's ankle and grabbed Rei by the wrist, then took flight.

"Ouch! You are hurting me!" Being suspended in midair by her wrist was very painful. But the worst suffering was reserved for Makoto, who had a serious flying phobia, having her parents died in a plane crash. "Ohh, let me down, please! Let me down!" She was almost crying from pain and fear.

"Cease your pitiful whining woman! Or I will reconsider my decision and kill you on the spot!" The cruel man landed after a few minutes of flying, throwing them in a heap of bodies. They were brought in an open roof arena, dominated by a mirrored observation bubble. The only exit beside the sky was a metal door in the wall under the bubble.

"Ouch! Rei you weight too much!" Usagi yelped when her friend landed on her lap. All of them were in bad shape, but still alive. Makoto stood up looking at the Saiyans with rage filled eyes.

"Ah! I like that look! Finally you show some fire! Well, listen up trash!" The man barked. "I am Captain Nappa, of the royal elite. I could have let them kill you, but I am in a good mood today, having been promoted to personal guard of prince Vegeta. So I am going to give you a chance. Kill an enemy, even in group, and I will allow you to enlist in the army. No failure is tolerated, it will be a fight to the death!"

"Excuse me, my lord." The Runner asked him. "There is difference in winning alone or in group? And what opponent we have to fight?"

"Impress me and maybe you will be rated as elite. Survive and you will be low class soldiers. Not that I expect anything from you except a funny death! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Your opponent will be a saibai-man, not too much weaker than Nizuki, the woman who crushed you easily. She is a low class warrior" He nodded at the Saiyan female, who blushed in shame.

"Then, if you don't mind, I will fight alone my lord!" The Runner exclaimed.

"Oh? We have an ambitious one? Well, you will fight first then, so your friends will know fear!" He laughed exiting the arena by the door.

Nappa climbed the stairs and entered the observation bubble. He was surprised to find another man there.

"Nappa! What are you doing here? Testing new warriors is my responsibility!" The man was clearly angry.

"Cool down Maizen. I only want a bit of fun. Come on guys!" He beckoned to the four soldiers. Entering the bubble they immediately stood at attention.

"Captain Maizen, sir!" They shouted together.

"At ease, warriors." The man told them distractedly. "Tell me more Nappa, you know I don't like your sadistic games. Where's the catch?"

Nappa hated the man. Captain Maizen was an elite, stronger than him, with a power level of over eight thousand. Reluctantly he explained the entire situation to him.

"Hum. I see. Not a bad idea after all. We don't need weaklings, but we can use more good soldiers. Let's see their level with the arena scouter. It is more precise than the portable ones." The officer punched some buttons, and numbers appeared on the screen.

In the arena the girls were arguing with the Runner. "Are you mad? The only chance we have to survive is fighting as a group! Why on earth you want to fight alone?" Rei was practically shouting at her.

"I can do it. Ami, you must analyze my opponent strengths and weaknesses, so you can team up on the following enemy. I'm trying to rate as an elite, they sure have more influence than a low class whatever. I need rank to search for the Void without raising suspicion. You have only to stay out of trouble. Then I will contact you when the time is right!" She explained them.

"What if you die horribly here, and without your aid, we die too?" Whispered Usagi softly, sadness in her eyes.

Before the Runner had the chance to speak, a voice thundered in the arena. "Warriors. Speak loudly your names once at the time. Then the battle will begin." Usagi was startled by the voice, finding it familiar.

Without other choices they shouted their names and prepared for the worst.

In the bubble, the scouter finished its readings. The names of the girls were added to the power levels displayed on the screen. "Let's see their worth." told to himself captain Maizen.

**_Ami - 350_**

**_Jean - 430_**

**_Makoto - 840_**

**_Minako - 450_**

**_Rei - 410_**

**_Usagi - 300_**

"The tall girl is almost decent. A bit of training and she will be a fine low class. The group should win if they can fight together well. On the contrary that Jean girl is a goner. She will never win alone against a saibai-man." He punched a last button, activating the saibai seed planter.

In the arena, a robotic arm came out from the wall, pushing a strange seed down in the sand of the arena. It sprinkled some type of liquid over the seed, then it folded back in the wall. While the girls looked at the strange scene, a green head similar in color and shape to a cabbage sprouted from the earth, followed by an ugly green body, all stubby arms, legs and claws. An evil face completed the looks of the creature, who immediately started to chuckle. "Ku ku ku ku!"

"Saibai-man! Your enemy is the older woman in front of you! Kill her!" The familiar voice thundered the command from the speakers.

The monster crossed eyes with Jean, then attacked swiftly punching her on the face. Jean managed to grab its hand and punched herself. The Saibai-man grabbed her hand and they began a contest of strength.

In the bubble, the scouter was beeping furiously. "Her power level is rising! How it is possible!" Nappa was shouting bewildered. On the screen the values were unmistakably displayed for all to see.

**_Saibai-man - 1200_**

**_Jean - 430 _**_ping_**_ 516 _**_ping_**_ 620 _**___ping_**_ 743 _**_ping_**_ 891_**

"She more than doubled her power! How it is possible, captain?" Nizuki asked in awe. A warrior's power level was fixed and raised only after tough training and experience, not during a fight!

"She is concentrating her power to raise it for a short time. I know someone in the Frieza Elite who can do it." Remarked Maizen calmly. Nappa was annoyed by this, no one in the Frieza Elite ever told him anything at all. How came Maizen knew it? "Anyway it's still not enough." He added cruelly.

In the arena, the saibai-man was slowly winning the contest. Pushing Jean toward the floor he overextended himself. At the same moment the Runner stopped pushing and started pulling. She fell on the floor with her back and kicked the monster in the guts, throwing it against the wall behind her. The saibai-man wasn't expecting something similar and crushed against the wall head first.

It immediately stood up, anger in its eyes, while Jean was standing up. Its head split open in the middle and squirted a green fluid at the woman! Jean jumped back, having anticipated the attack thanks to her karma skill.

The monster attacked her again, but she limited herself to parries and dodges, taking time to think up a strategy. "I have to finish this quickly, my karma is at the lowest after a dimthread." It was too strong and fast however, and she started taking damage. Cut and bruises mostly, however her stamina was drying out.

"She is almost defeated." Captain Maizen was carefully measuring her power level, dropping steadily during the fight. Then something changed. "Wait, what is happening?"

Evading the monster, Jean summoned all of her power. "OK, I'm going for broke, look at me kids!" She shouted. "AAAAHHHH!"

An intense red glow emanated from the Runner, while she used her remaining karma to grab the unlikely chance for victory. She found something in her body, a trigger she happened to notice only thanks to her probability manipulation skill. Pushing her luck, she pumped all of her energy into it, and her body answered by powering up... a lot!

The scouter was beeping madly in the observation chamber. Jean's power level was again raising fast. Nappa was astounded. "What is she doing? How high is her power level? Tell me Maizen!" The other captain calmly looked at the readings. "Over four thousand. Can you believe it? The saibai-man has no chance, she is an elite."

In the arena Jean finished powering up, then disappeared from sight, while the saibai-man tried to hit her. She reappeared beside it, hitting it with a vicious chop on the neck, easily decapitating it. Then the power vanished, leaving her exhausted, all her muscles aching badly.

"Unbelievable! If she was so strong why she let me hit her?" Asked Nizuki wide eyed.

"She lacks training. She obviously has the innate power of an elite, but has no real skill. She can't fly, nor use energy attacks. But she can focus her power at the time of need. This is an advanced ability, only a real elite can use." he told them while grinning at Nappa, clearly incapable of doing it himself.

"Fine! If she is that good, then I claim her for the royal guards. We will train her to be strong. You are in charge of the low class warrior training, so it should not be a problem." Nappa shouted back.

Maizen nodded in acceptance. "You may take her now, I will proceed with testing the others." He replied coldly.

"I will!" The big warrior climbed down the stairs angrily, then entered the arena, where the girls were celebrating, grabbing hold of Jean's arm. "You will be trained as an Elite, woman. Be grateful. We will go now." He said, immediately starting to fly away. Unable to resist, the Runner shouted at the surprised girls "Stay... out... of... trouble!" then vanished over the walls.

"Jean-san! Bring her back here, you sadistic... saiyan!" Minako was still shouting at Nappa, when the voice from the observation bubble thundered again. "Stay alert, warriors. Your opponent is almost ready!" At the same time the robotic arm planted another saibai-man.

Makoto was already in a karate fighting position. Minako and Rei stood by her sides. Usagi, in the back row was still trying to remember where she heard that voice.

Ami, standing behind Makoto, was thinking of a plan. "If that beast is strong as the one Jean-san defeated, than we need to stop its movement, even for an instant. Our attacks won't harm it, but we will give Makoto the time to hit it."

"OK!" The three girls replied instantly. They were maybe unable to transform in their Sailor counterparts, but the long years of teamwork were still at their disposal. When the saibai-man sprouted fully grown from the sand of the arena, they were ready for it.

In the observation room, captain Maizen was looking at the Scouter readings. "Here they go again, their power levels are raising." On the screen, the values were changing fast.

**_Ami - 350 _**_ping_**_ 420 _**_ping_**_ 504 _**_ping_**_ 604_**

**_Makoto - 840 _**_ping_**_ 1008_**

**_Minako - 450 _**_ping_**_ 540 _**_ping_**_ 648_**

**_Rei - 410 _**_ping_**_ 492 _**_ping_**_ 590 _**_ping_**_ 708_**

**_Usagi - 300_**

**_Saibai -man - 1200_**

In the arena, Makoto sprinted toward the monster, jumping at the last moment and kicking at its head. The little plant man dodged her kick by ducking, only to be attacked by both Rei and Minako in a double tackle attack.

The monster however jumped up with blinding speed, somersaulting backwards and landing a vicious kick on Makoto's back. Despite the pain, she bounced on the wall and attacked again hitting it with an elbow attack in the guts.

Minako and Rei, disentangling from each other, tumbled sideways, quickly standing up. Makoto and the saibai-man were exchanging blinding-fast attacks, so they waited for an opening.

Ami, scooping up a fistful of sand from the floor of the arena, charged the monster faking a punch. The plant man easily dodged, while parrying a series of fast punches form Makoto, then slapped Ami on the face.

The short haired girl was prepared to be hit, but the strength of the blow was unexpected. She managed to throw the sand in the face of the monster, before crashing backwards in the wall. Usagi, seeing her hurt, immediately snapped back to reality. "Ami... AMI!"

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the monster's momentary blindness, Minako and Rei grabbed its arms. "Now Makoto!" They held it fast, to give her friend a chance to deliver a good hit.

Makoto charged forward with full strength, punching the beast in the abdomen, with all her might. The saibai-man doubled over, likely in pain. "Good hit!" exclaimed Minako, a moment too soon.

"Ku, ku, ku, ku!" The saibai-man, while in pain, opened wide his skull squirting acid on Makoto. The girl managed to cover herself with her arms, but the pain was excruciating. "Arrrrgh!" She cried, falling down.

"You cheater!" Minako tried to hit the plant man but it started to glow. "Let it go!" Shouted Rei, jumping back. A flash of light blinded her as the monster released a burst of power, hitting Minako at full force. She was pushed away, falling down stunned.

In the bubble, the Saiyan warriors were commenting the fight. "They started well, but now they are done for. Without their strongest fighters, the saibai-man is going to slaughter them."

"Not necessarily." Told them calmly the captain. "One of them is still standing, and another has not powered up." He hinted at Usagi, still trying to aid Ami. Strangely he felt an irrational attraction for the girl with the strange meatball hairdo. He was sure she was hiding something.

"Ami-chan, please stand up. Are you hurt?" Usagi was terrified, her friends were falling one after another, remembering her their last battle against Queen Metallia.

"Usagi... please help Rei, not me... I'm out for good... I've broken ribs and concussion... can't fight."

"But, but I'm not a fighter... I cannot transform... what can I do to that monster?"

"I... have faith... in you... It has a large head, which reduces its peripheral vision. You must attack it from the rear. You still can... Rei... oh." She fainted.

"Ami, AMI!" Usagi was on the verge of tears, when Rei's voice startled her. "Hey! Rei Here! I can use some help! Ykes!"

The Shinto shrine maiden was not a martial artist in any sense of the word, but five years as Sailor Mars left her with lightning fast reflexes. This, combined with her precognitive powers enabled her to evade the monster's attacks, at least until now. "Usagi, please! Snap out of it! Attack it! Attack it!" The saibai-man, anticipating the kill, was pressing on.

Usagi running at top speed, charged the monster head on, without skill or strategy. Sensing danger, the saibai-man dodged at the last moment, grabbing her in a deadly embrace! Chuckling evilly he started to squeeze.

"Usagi!" Rei punched the monster in the ribs without effect. It was killing her friend, and her attacks were useless. Its skin was too tough.

Suffering greatly, Usagi started to whimper, uselessly trying to free herself. Then unconsciously remembering her first fight against a youma, she screamed out loud, with all her might, born of fear, frustration and concern for her friends. "!"

The mighty yell stunned the saibai-man, forcing it to release the noisy girl. Usagi fell on the floor, but readily stood up, while Rei kicked the monster in the side. The saibai-men recovering rapidly attacked with a fast punch on Rei's nose, momentarily dazing her.

Meanwhile Usagi, still lost in remembrance, blurred together in her mind the image of the saibai-man with the first youma she faced. She touched her forehead while a golden light shone between her fingers, then she crouched in a Frisbee launching position. A glowing disc of power formed in her hand.

In the observation room, the scouter readings started to fluctuate again.

**_Ami - 60_**

**_Makoto - 101_**

**_Minako - 65_**

**_Rei - 550_**

**_Usagi - 300 _**_ping_**_ 450 _**_ping_**_ 675 _**_ping_**_ 1012_**

**_Saibai -man - 980_**

"Look at that thing! She is about to use an energy attack!" Nizuki was not impressed by the power, in itself still low, but the ability to increase it at will was incredibly useful.

Captain Maizen was proud of that girl, despite not understanding why he cared. "I knew you had it in yourself, woman. Show them your skill!" He thought to himself.

The saibai-man noticed Usagi and quickly charged her. Exactly the same time, she finished preparing her attack. Shouting _"Moon... Tiara... Action!"_ She threw the energy disc, making it rotate like a flying buzz saw.

Realizing its mistake, the plant man tried to change course, but it was too late. The power disk cut it neatly in half, killing it on the spot. They had won the challenge!

The disc continued its flight, returning to Usagi's hand. She caught it without difficulty, making it fly around her fingers, unharmed. She looked at the strange glowing, buzzing disc, rapidly snapping out of her reverie. "What... what is this thing?" Losing her concentration, the disc harmlessly dissipated.

Rei was stunned. Usagi managed to use an energy attack without transforming into Sailor Moon! It was similar to her tiara attack, yet without the tiara. "How the hell you managed to do it?"

"I don't know! I remembered my first fight against a youma, and it happened! Rei are you OK? We must help the others, they are wounded!" She said hastening to her friends side.

At the same time, the arena door opened, and the Saiyan warriors rapidly stood beside it. A tall man in black and silver battle armor, comprehensive of black cape, walked in staring coldly at them. "Well done, women! You are now rated as low-class soldiers in the Saiyan army. Nizuki!" He barked at the Saiyan warrior woman.

"Yes sir!" she snapped at attention.

"You are to receive a temporary promotion to sergeant. I want you to bring these newbies to the medical room, then to the armory. Get them equipment, food and lodging. Book them for a mission then report back to me. I want them ready for action as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Oh, why me? Sir, I'm not the..." She started to argue when the captain interrupted her.

"Are you saying I'm wrong in choosing you? You are not up to the task?"

"No sir! I will do as instructed sir!"

"Well, let's move then. And you three..." He added looking at the remaining soldiers. "You were supposed to patrol the south wall, or I'm mistaken? Return to your post, NOW!"

The soldiers saluted then they hastened to their duties flying away.

Then the captain noticed the amazed stares of the five new soldiers. Even Makoto, Minako and Ami, greatly pained by their wounds, were gawking at him.

Usagi threw herself crying in his arms. " Oh Mamoru! Mamo-chan! It was so scary! The monsters, the pain! Please take us home! Oh I love you! I... uh what are you doing here anyway, wearing this armor?"

Ignoring Nizuki's chuckling, Maizen pushed gently the girl away from his chest. "I think you're confusing me with someone else, woman. I'm captain Maizen, in charge of the low-class warrior training program. I have never seen you before. Now cease your whimpering ad help your comrades to the medical bay. Nizuki here will be your commander, for the time being."

He started to rise in the air. "Don't disappoint me, women. I have given you a chance to live, prove me right and do a good work, remember your Saiyan warrior pride."

"M-mamo-chan is not Mamo-chan?" Usagi was stammering, stunned by the revelation. The captain flew away leaving them with the cruel eyed saiyan woman.

"This is madness! He was identical to Mamoru! How can that be?" Rei, the only one standing beside Usagi, was trying to help Makoto. The tall girl had her arms horribly burned, but she managed to stand up.

Nizuki grabbed the still paralyzed Minako and unceremoniously dumped her on the shoulders. She waited for Usagi to help Ami, then walked through the door. "Hurry, we have no time to spare. Your friend's wound need treatment. It was a good fight. You surprised us. That power level raising skill is useful, you must teach me how to do it. By the way, I'm Nizuki, please to meet you girls." She told them smiling.

"You tried to kill us!" Usagi snapped at her.

"Yeah, so what? I thought you were useless trash. You are not, and in a real fight you five could have killed me. No need to waste your thoughts on this. I will offer you a drink later, OK? Now follow me, we'll get them in the healing pods in no time."

Rei and Usagi looked at each other wondering how the saiyan mind worked. "Uh, I want something to eat, I'm hungry!" Usagi could not let the opportunity pass.

"Fine, I'm hungry too. First we have your friends healed, then we eat in the mess hall. Here we are!" Nizuki kicked open an automatic door, the mechanisms whining in protest to the abuse. "Too slow, stupid door!" She growled entering the room.

They were in a large chamber full of machinery. Several pods filled of transparent green goo were positioned in the center of a network of cables and pipes. Computer screens dotted the walls and a constant humming sound reverberated it the chemical smelling air. An old looking bearded man with bald head and pointed ears met them.

"Planthorr! I have fresh meat for your machines. Nothing really serious. Can you heal them now?" The Saiyaness unceremoniously dumped the still stunned Minako on the floor.

"Yes, Nizuki dear. Please strip the patients of these filthy rags and put them in the medical machines. You two girls, stop gawking and lend her an hand. I want you to enter the pods too. You seem hurt. No one leave my ward wounded, however lightly." The man was speaking with a strange but gentle accent.

Ami, conscious despite the pain, was staring at the room with wide eyes. "Healing machines? Oh, I MUST learn how they work!"

"A saiyan scholar? What a rarity! Let me heal you, lady, then if you are still interested I may teach you something." The man said softly while inserting her in the medical pod.

"Are you sure this things work?" Rei asked him.

"Sure! You will know soon enough!" Nizuki told her, stripping her by force and throwing her, head first, in a pod. "Eek! You... brute!"

Usagi, sweatdropping, hastened in a machine by herself, to avoid Rei's fate.

Collecting their rags Nizuki dumped them in a garbage disposal chute. "Doctor, do you have some undersuits here?"

"Yes, my dear. Some old female ones are in the third locker to the right."

She opened the locker and took out five small objects, resembling doll sized black swimsuits. "These will do. A bit skimpy for my tastes, but better than those reservation rags!" She spat on the ground remembering with hate the old Tsufuru-made uniforms.

"No spitting here, lady!" Planthorr chided her.

Meanwhile, in the pods, the five friends were overwhelmed by exhaustion and drifted in a peaceful sleep.

"Look at them! They are healing fast. While we wait, I will book them for the first mission available. The captain was very clear on this." Nizuki approached one of the terminals and started punching buttons.

"Too difficult, too difficult, too easy... Oh this is good. Planet Babke! One moon, full once every 100 years. Next full moon in two weeks. It's perfect! The inhabitants are modestly strong, but nothing an Oozaru can't handle. There, mission accepted!" She grinned satisfied of her choice.

"And now we wait..." She yawned, sitting on the floor with her back on Usagi's pod. "Wake me when they are finished Planthorr, I'll grab some sleep too."

Sighing, the doctor nodded at her, thinking to himself. "Saiyans! Good only to eat, sleep and fight... morons, all of them."


	5. Chapter 5: Saiyan style

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

* * *

**Chapter 5, Saiyan style**

Rei was floating in strange green goo, inside the medical machine. The semi-liquid substance was restoring her strength and soothing her wounds. Indulging in sleep was not in her programs though.

Since coming in this strange world, her perceptions were strangely warped. This would have been the perfect opportunity to meditate and cleanse her spirit. Despite the breathing apparatus she had to put on, she whispered her Shinto prayers, rapidly falling in a deep meditative state.

She knew her sensations were still with her. During her fight with that little cabbage-head monster she managed to 'feel' it in a way she was never capable of back on earth. Yet, she was having problems with her usual precognitions. She suspected the saiyan instincts for fighting were involved somewhat. In combat, she knew of the little monster attacks the instant it thought of them. But she was incapable of making sense of the entire situation. It was the opposite of her normal capabilities.

Focusing all her concentration, she expanded her mind to all the events transpired so far, trying to get some view of the future. After a while all the sounds of the medical chamber faded away. Slowly her sight was lost in a deep icy darkness. Then a small light shone in the darkness. Blazing golden, the light grew ever so bright, emanating from someone. Rage and hate flooded her mind, so deep and strong she almost came out of her trance. Then the emotions changed to sorrow and love, and all of her being was enveloped in silver light.

In the chamber, medical technician Planthorr was monitoring the life signs of his patients. One of them, the girl Nizuki thrown in the medical machine, was giving strange readings. Her power levels were fluctuating wildly and, if only for a moment, they went off scale. Fortunately for his equipment, they returned normal an instant later. Still... He compiled a report and filed it in the records he kept for the Planetary Trade Organization.

Meanwhile, Rei was unsure of herself. She had a vision, like she wanted, but it was one of danger and darkness, rage and sadness. It was not a good omen, not at all. "As usual." She thought bitterly. Remembering her previous reluctance to share her visions, and the problems that ensued, she decided to tell the girls about it as soon as possible this time. "Better safe than sorry."

Her thoughts were cut short by a sudden drowsiness. Planthorr appeared smiling outside her pod. "No stressful thoughts while healing. I'm giving you mild anesthetic, good dreams."

Frustrated, Rei fought the temptation to punch the man through the glass! "I must remember the vision! Must... rememb..."

She finally drifted into deep sleep.

Planthorr had set up the pods to open only when the most wounded of them was completely healed. Those Saiyans were prone to over-exertion, better give them extra rest. So when Makoto's wounds were finally healed the medical machines beeped in chorus, draining the regenerative fluid from the pods. The remaining goo evaporated quickly, so when the pods opened up the girls were clean and dry.

The first to come out the pod was Ami, timidly peeking inside the chamber. "Hem, doctor, we are naked. Can you give us some clothes, please?" She was timidly covering her bosom and groin.

Nizuki stood up, fully awake, standing in front of her. "Stop this idiocy, weakling! Are you ashamed of your body?" She yanked Ami out of the pod grabbing her by an arm. Then she threw at her the doll sized suits Planthorr gave her hours before. "Wear an undersuit. And give the others to your friends! Tsk, I'm not supposed to babysit you guys!"

"Oww! You are a rude one! Aren't you? There was no need to pull me this violently!" Ami forgot her nakedness while angrily replying to the woman. She stopped when the warrior gave her the old sensing device she found in the Tsufuru ruins.

"Here's your scouter. It's an old model. Broken too. I suggest you to change it with a new one when we will finally go to the armory. Now get dressed!" She slapped Ami buttocks playfully, savoring her blushing. These girls were so easy to pick on; she could not resist teasing them.

Ami, red faced and totally embarrassed, hastened to wear the small suit. "It's too small, it has to be elastic. Let's try." Easily stretching the material she managed to get inside it. Despite this, the suit was very comfortable to wear, almost like a second skin. She examined it, realizing it was not made from fabric, rather some sort of hexagonal mesh. She slapped and pinched it to test the material's strength, and was amazed by the results.

"It is a shock absorbing material engineered by the Arcosians. It will protect you from blunt attacks and some light piercing ones. It has good thermal regulation and resistance. It let you perspire freely and mends itself over small tears. Here, these are the specs, if you can read them." Planthorr gave her a computer pad, full of data.

"Thank you sir!" Ami was delighted. "I'm Ami, nice to meet you sir." She said bowing.

"Oh a nice one, for a change! I am Planthorr, medical technician of the PTO, assigned to planet Vegeta. Nice to meet you too, Ami."

"PTO? Can you tell me more, Sir?" She asked, while memorizing the data he gave her.

"Do not waste time with her, Planthorr! Look at the others. I'm in a hurry!" Nizuki barked at them, while motioning to the girls to get out.

"I will look at these later, thanks for it Doctor!" Ami gave him back the pad, having memorized most of the interesting data in a few seconds. She hastened to the other pods, handing the suits to her shy friends. Only Makoto had got out of her pod without concern.

Flexing her muscles she got in a fighting stance and performed some kata. "I'm Feeling great! Thanks for the healing, err... Planthorr?" The doctor nodded.

She grabbed one of the suits, quickly donning it. Then resumed her calisthenics. Nizuki noticed her, in appreciation. "Finally someone I can understand. You know some nifty moves. Let me see you power level!" She activated her scouter, visualizing Makoto's power.

_**Makoto**_ _- beep __**1250**_

"Mph! You are strong as a Saibai-man now. Your wounds have triggered the Zenkai. You are still weaker than me though!" She said grinning, throwing her a friendly punch, that Makoto easily parried. "We should spar someday. You must teach me your power rising technique!"

"What's a Zenkai?" Asked her Ami, ever curious.

The woman sighed at the question. "Are you really Saiyans? Zenkai is the ability to grow stronger after recovering from nearly fatal wounds! Everyone knows this! Enough of this banter! Now that you are healed and clothed we'll take the rest of your equipment at the armory. Let's go!" She marched out of the medical center without even saying goodbye to Planthorr.

Waving at the doctor Makoto and Ami promptly followed her. Usagi and Minako bowed to him. "Thanks for the treatment, doctor!" Than they scurried after Nizuki.

Rei lingered. She had forgotten something important. Trying to remember she looked at the pods. What was it? "Huff, if it really is important, sooner or later I will recall it!" Bowing deeply she saluted Planthorr and ran after the others.

The doctor, seeing them getting away, was amazed by their cheerfulness. "These girls, are they really warriors? I can't imagine them killing millions of helpless victims!" He regretted once again his people enlisting in the Planetary Trade Organization. So much death and cruelty... Yet, the alternative was _their_ death...

Nizuki walked at a brisk pace in the alien looking corridors of the fortress. Many soldiers, mostly Saiyans, hurried about their duties. There were other aliens, some humanoids, others way more bizarre. Truly an otherworldly sight.

"Next we will meet a Jedi or Captain Harlock? What do you think Usagi?" Minako was gawking at the aliens shamelessly. "We are in a science fiction movie! Hey, maybe we can find the Starlights! They were aliens, maybe they can help us!"

Usagi jumped at the thought. "Oh, Seiya, Taiki and Yaten! They were from planet Kinmoku! You are right, if we can contact them..."

Ami sadly shook her head. "We are in an alternate universe. Jean was very clear on this. Even if planet Kinmoku exists in this universe, it is not 'our' Kinmoku!"

"Like Mamo-chan is not Mamo-chan here?" Usagi whispered sadly.

"Yes, Usagi, sorry for this. We were all surprised at the resemblance. But he is not Mamoru. His name was Maizen, if I recall correctly." Ami sighed. Her friend was so strong and so fragile at the same time. She wowed to herself to return them to their universe as soon as possible. Jean's short explanation gave her some ideas; she only needed time and the right equipment to test them.

"Don't worry Usagi-chan. We will make it, as usual. I'm already stronger, this time no one will bully us for sure!" Makoto boasted cheerfully.

Rei looked at her friend preoccupied. "The power up has raised her confidence. At the expense of her common sense, I fear."

Nizuki interrupted her musings. "Here we are, the Armory. Malaka! You old lizard! Give me five battle armors for these ones! Now!" She shouted with her usual bad manners.

An alien, clearly reptilian, showed up from the room's recesses. It had olive green skin and orange mohawk hairs. "Hello to you, Nizuki. Five battle armors for whom? Stand under this sensor and give your name please." He asked them unfazed.

The five girls looked at each other. Then they complied with the technician's request.

Moving herself under the strange machine, Usagi nervously whispered her name. "Tsukino Usagi, age 17, high school student!" The machine buzzed angrily. "Is it broken?" She asked quizzically. It buzzed again.

"Name only, please!" Malaka pointed out.

"Huff, Usagi!" The machine buzzed again. "U SA GI!" This time the machine beeped contentedly.

"This thing is so fussy!" Usagi stepped away from it, quickly replaced by Rei.

"It's you, not it, you dummy!" Rei chided her. The machine buzzed again. "Eeh? Give me time, you stupid contraption!" It buzzed again. "Arrrgh!"

All of them, Nizuki included, were laughing hard at the funny scene. Embarrassed, Rei managed to calm down and speak her name. "Rei!" Finally the machine beeped.

Ami, Makoto and Minako had no problems and quickly they finished the process.

"As newbie low-class warriors you are entitled to customize only the color scheme of your armor. Chose a pattern by touching a button. No punching, please." Malaka was accustomed to saiyan disregard for delicate equipment, so he was surprised at the new girl's gentleness. They even thanked him! Yet, they started a crazed debate about the colors!

"It's incredible you cannot change this about that!", "Why can I select only two colors?", "Wait, this color is better here or there?" And so on, for at least fifteen minutes.

Nizuki was going to hit them, when Usagi asked her opinion on the matter. "Nizuki, maybe you can tell us if red looks better over gold on this pauldron?" Answering that question drew her in their private world of color combinations. Saiyan women were as practical as the males, but they were not without fashion sense.

Malaka was getting nervous, when finally they stopped talking and made their choices. "About time! The computer will add the chosen colors to you armors. In the meantime, here are your scouters." He gave them five of the small sensors. Ami never mentioned the old one she kept in her hands behind her back. Nizuki showed them how to wear them.

The computer beeped again, this time warning them their armors were completed. Malaka opened some compartments in the wall behind him, taking out brand new armors. Handing them to the girls he showed them the elastic properties of the material. "This Arcosian battle armor is a life saver. It will protect you from most type of damage. It is a bit weak against slashing attacks however, mind that. It gives the most protection against energy attacks. It will even grow with you when it will be necessary..."

Nizuki interrupted him. "Oh stop, Malaka! Everyone knows that. Usagi you are wearing it backwards! No, no, I will show you! Oh, what a drag!" After some yelling and pushing, the five girls finally donned their armors and scouters.

Malaka touched a button activating the reflective property of one of the walls. "You can take look at yourself here." He pointed out.

The five friends looked at the strangers in the mirror. The image was clearly different to what they were accustomed. They were wearing saiyan armor. Red and blue for Usagi. Red and purple for Rei. Orange and purple for Minako. Green and pink for Makoto. Azure and Blue for Ami. They all had scouters on the left eye.

Their bodies were different too.

The hair was the first thing they took notice of. It was raven black, spiky and tough, more like fur than hair. Even Rei's, normally black, was different. The most dramatic change was for Usagi and Minako.

Then there were the eyes. Jet black irises, thick black eyebrows, long black eyelashes. They had a piercing look, the eyes of a warrior.

Their skin was tougher and harder, yet it retained the original color and looks. Their brown tails were wrapped around their waist, as all Saiyans used to keep them. Ami was right with her suggestion.

Their muscles were more defined, much to Usagi and Rei chagrin. "Eek! I'm all muscly! Gross!"

Makoto was admiring herself. "Mako-chan! Didn't you resent being called an amazon? Why are you flexing your biceps like a bodybuilder?" Asked her a mischievous Usagi.

The tall girl blushed, replying embarrassed. "Y-you are right. Still... I feel so strong! It's a good sensation..."

"Why a woman should be embarrassed being strong? It should be the reverse, moron! The one to feel shame should be you, weakling!" Nizuki slapped Usagi on the head. "Don't worry Makoto. I know of a lot of males who would mate with you without a second thought!" She winked at her, making her blush even more.

"Are you t-telling me saiyan men like strong and tall women?" Makoto could not believe it.

"Should they look for WEAK women? Come on girl! Where the hell you come from! I can understand why your tribe was wiped out!" She laughed hard, friendly slapping Makoto on the back.

"Hey, aren't we too much friendly? Stop slapping us, Nizuki!" Usagi yelled at her, pissed by the woman's behavior.

"Ooh? Make me, you sissy!" She replied, taking a fighting stance.

"Eh? No need to be so touchy! You fight over anything?" Usagi asked her, sweatdropping.

"Why not? Fighting is funny! You should try it... if you weren't such a coward!" She said teasing her.

"No fights here!" Shouted Malaka annoyed. "Bring your sorry saiyan asses out of my armory!"

"What a spoilsport! Let's go to eat something, then." Nizuki told them, walking away matter-of-factly.

Waving to Malaka, the five girls followed their guide, immediately hungry. The simple word "eat" kicked up their hunger to unbelievable levels.

"Eat time, eat time!" Usagi was jumping like a little kid, thinking of food.

"Our bodies need constant feeding, remember what I told you about efficient metabolism?" Ami told her friends, while hurrying after Nizuki.

"I hope this is not going into fat! I'll hate to lose my shape!" Rei told to no one in particular.

"Nizuki, are we there yet? Minako asked her. "I'm having this desire to bite something..."

"Try not biting me!" Makoto replied jokingly.

"Here we are!" Nizuki kicked open a double door, western saloon style.

The mess hall was an enormous noisy place. Lots of tables and benches affixed on the floor were arrayed in rows after rows. An enormous buffet filled an entire wall of the chamber. The opposite wall was occupied by a huge bar with hundreds of stools. Scores of saiyan warriors, male and female, were gobbling up unbelievable amounts of food and drink. Some couples were flirting shamelessly; other patrons were arm-wrestling, most simply chatted while eating.

"Oh my! This is high school mess hall, hellish version!" Makoto said surprised.

Nizuki chose a free table seating down. "Come on, we will be served in a minute."

The girls seated down beside her. Usagi looked at the table, searching for something. "There's no menu? Cutlery, table cloth?"

"What's a menu?" Asked her Nizuki quizzically. Usagi cringed at the reply.

Makoto saw something move in their direction. "Look at that!"

Four strange looking aliens, carrying six enormous plates filled with random foods, were walking toward their table. They unceremoniously dumped the plates on the table, and then they went back to wherever they came from.

"Now we fill up! Enjoy!" Nizuki grabbed with her bare hands a huge piece of juicy meat from one of the plates and ate it with gusto.

"Hey, it was on my plate!" Usagi shouted at her, then she took an equally big slab of steak and started chewing, looking gloomily at the Saiyaness.

"Is this a food battle? Because I'm not fighting it. We ..." Started to say Rei, when Minako robbed her plate of one humongous loaf of bread. "Y-you, little thief! I'll show you!" Rei shouted at her while grabbing something to eat.

Ami, timing her food acquisitions with skill and strategy, managed to avoid her competitive friend's attention, still managing to eat an amazing amount of food.

Makoto was instead nibbling at her plate. "Girls, is this junk really so good? The meat is over cooked! The vegetables were boiled to death with no sauces or spices added! Even the bread is stringy! I'm hungry too, but this is too much! Nizuki, bring me to the cooks, I want to kill them!"

The Saiyaness barely raised her eyes from the food. "You can do better?" she replied.

"You can bet it! Mako-chan is an exceptional cook! She can cook anything!" Usagi bragged, warmly smiling to her friend.

The other three girls nodded in agreement. "She's great!", "She can cook like a pro!", "Her cuisine is one of the best!"

"Then why waste time? Come with me." Deadly serious Nizuki sprinted toward the end of the buffet. Following her, the girls took notice of the large door where the food was coming from. "These are the kitchens. And here's the cook!"

Nizuki pointed at a large obese alien, her hairless pink body covered in short, stubby horny protrusions. The chief cook was overseeing an entire company of cooks, in a large kitchen with dozens of cooking stations. Sensing their approach she looked at the small Saiyaness with disdain. "What do you want here, Nizuki? Again here to speak against my cooking? Last time I threw you in the soup!"

"Boboghia! Filthy poisoner! This time I am not challenging you. She is!" She pointed her finger to Makoto.

"Am I?" The girl replied surprised.

"She is?" Her friends chimed in.

"Yes! You are! We make the usual bet. Both of you cook five dishes for one squad. They judge and the losers get thrown in the pot and must obey the winner for a year!"

"Excuse me, Nizuki, but I'm starting to think this is personal for you..." Makoto was having doubts about the situation.

"Ha! Nizuki hates my cooking! She challenged me three times. I love looking at her washing dishes! If you lose..." he pointed at Makoto, "Then BOTH of you will be my personal washing slaves for a year!"

"Fine! Show her, Makoto!" Nizuki was glowering at the cook.

"Her? She is a she?" The girls repressed their embarrassment but Usagi was starting to giggle. "Ussaagi!" Rei chided her immediately.

Never backing down from a challenge, Makoto took hold of Nizuki's arm. "If I won, you owe me big time, OK?" The Saiyaness nodded. "Great, then show me to the kitchen."

"Maybe we can help you, Mako-chan!" Usagi told her full of good intentions.

"NO! Hem, no thanks, Usagi-chan... I can manage on my own." Sweating profusely Makoto hurried with Nizuki inside the kitchen.

"Should I feel offended?" Asked Usagi to herself. She knew her cooking skills were subpar at best. She asked anyway, out of kindness.

"Let's go back to the table. There's a lot of food still there." Remembered them Minako. They followed her suggestion and ate all the food, including Nizuki and Makoto's portions!

Meanwhile Nizuki jumped on the bar shouting. "Attention please! I, Nizuki and my friend, Makoto will challenge the cooking skill of the master cook Boboghia! I require a squad to act as judges for the match! Any volunteers?"

A chorus of voices immediately offered help. No Saiyan would ever deny himself to eat an extra dish. Nizuki appraised the raised hands and finally chose one squad. "I call Bardock's squad to judge the match. It is acceptable to you, Boboghia?" She asked the master cook, just arrived from the kitchen.

"Yes, Bardock is known for his impartiality." The ugly pink alien smiled evilly. She knew Bardock's squad for a group of tasteless idiots, who chewed anything she threw at them, like all the other Saiyans save Nizuki. The young warrior woman was a pain in her side, but she loved her angry face when she ordered her to clean dishes... a shameful duty for a warrior. This time she would have to clean the mess hall too, with only a towel! She savored the thought. Then shrugging she returned to the kitchen to oversee her cooks, a bunch of idiots who couldn't tell the difference between boiled or roasted food. Not that it mattered...

The girls took notice of the squad chosen to judge the competition. They were five, one short and pretty woman and four males. The squad's chief, Bardock was a handsome Saiyan, with a fearsome scar on the left cheek and unruly hair. One other was a good looking and tall warrior with short hair. Of the last two men one was mean looking and fatty and the other huge and dumb. "Oy, I like the tall one!" Chirped Minako, with hearth shaped eyes. "So dashing!" Rei scoffed at her, while Ami and Usagi simply giggled.

Half an hour later the attendants brought out of the kitchen two large trays full of food, leaving them on Bardock squad's table. Nizuki and Makoto were near the left one, while Boboghia and her cooks were near the right one. "Time to eat and judge! Let's start!" Shouted Nizuki, sounding very excited.

The judges grabbed randomly the food, eating like there was no tomorrow. They looked ravenous, yet not particularly interested in a dish rather than to another. After consuming all the food, they patted their stomachs and briefly consulted each other. Then, as the tension ran high in the mess hall, Bardock stood up. "I must say, I've never tasted anything this good in my life. The winner is... Makoto!"

A victory celebration broke out, as Makoto and Nizuki personally took hold of Boboghia, throwing her into the soup pot! Then they were raised in the air by merry soldiers and brought in parade around the mess hall. Finally scores of hungry Saiyans asked Makoto to let them taste her cuisine.

"I will return here tomorrow, to cook something and to teach these poisoners how a REAL cook works. There will be changes here, you can bet on it!" She winked at the smiling soldiers, flustered by all the praises directed at her.

Returning by their friends Nizuki slammed her hands on the table. "Who the hell stole my food?" She grinned at the worried looks Usagi and the others made. "I ate a lot of Makoto's wonderful cuisine, don't worry! Just joking. Let's go to your quarters!"

"Hum, I'm starting to change my mind on these Saiyans." Usagi whispered. "They seem a fun loving bunch. Fighting otaku and rough warriors, but no so bad once you know them."

"I know, right?" Beamed at her Makoto, still amazed at the warm reception she had in the mess hall. "Saiyans love fighting, strong women and good food! It's like paradise to me..."

"You seem to forget the acid burns." Remarked Rei dryly.

"Humph. They healed us, and I've gotten stronger after that fight. They play rough to get better. You can't understand them!" Makoto replied a bit annoyed.

"Here we go!" Nizuki startled them. "These are you quarters." She pointed at a small room, equipped with two triple bunk beds, six lockers a small washing room and a separate toilet. There were no blankets or pillows.

A chorus of disbelieving sighs echoed in the room. "This you call quarters? It's barely better than a capsule hotel!"

"What are you complaining for? The lockers to put your items into, beds to sleep or mate in, a sonic shower and a toilet! It's luxurious!" She obviously could not understand the girl's horror.

"M-mate? Don't tell me y-you cannot have privacy w-when...?" Minako almost shouted, while Usagi and Ami went ruby red. Rei and Makoto scoffed at her reaction.

"Obviously not! You dummies! Mated pairs are given private chambers!" This was the first time Nizuki blushed in front of them. She thought of herself and captain Maizen in a private room, embracing... a dream come true! She blushed more.

"Stop making foolish remarks! It's too late for showing you the training rooms. Go to bed and try catching some true sleep, not that chemical daze of the medical pods. Tomorrow morning you have your first mission!"

"First mission? W-what mission? Where?" Ami asked her immediately.

"Tomorrow morning you will take off in attack balls for planet Babke. I booked you for this while you were healing. I chose a mission of appropriate difficulty. The natives are quite strong, but you should not have any problems to kill them all!" She told them smiling, while getting out of the room. "Now go to sleep. Suspended animation in an attack ball does not count for rest; I want you at peak efficiency. Bye!" The door closed off, locking the horrified friends inside the room.


	6. Chapter 6: Moonlit drama

**Author's notes:** Thanks to all the reviewers!

Jewlbunny - Bardock will return in the following chapters, as a secondary character. He will have an important role to play though. ^^

greatprinny2 - You will be surprised for sure! XD

Crystal - Thanks! Here's the update. ^^

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_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

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**Chapter 6, Moonlit drama**

"Wait! Nizuki!" Usagi tried to open the door, but there was no knob or lever to push or pull. Ami touched a little square of metal embedded in the wall, and the door opened with a hiss. "Nizuki! Please!" Usagi rushed out, following the woman.

The warrior was absentmindedly flying away from the open balcony at the end of the corridor. She stopped hearing Usagi calling her. "What do you want, crybaby?" She told her, annoyed.

"Y-you told me we'll have to kill someone! I heard right? We can't! You can't give us a mission like this! You must change it!" Usagi was on the verge of tears, while pleading their cause with the saiyan warrior.

"Stop this." Nizuki landed softly beside her. Usagi was joined by her friends, all of them complaining. "I said... STOP THIS!" They fell silent in front of the angry outburst from the warrior.

"Make no mistake, girls. You are now warriors in the Saiyan Army, and you will follow orders. We work for the PTO, and they ordered us to clear planet Babke of the natives. Tomorrow morning you will board your attack balls and in two weeks you will land there. Then you will kill them all. You must go, otherwise captain Nappa will personally take the pleasure of killing you all. No useless weaklings stay alive in the Saiyan Army; did I make myself crystal clear?" She told them nearly shouting.

"Yes, you made yourself very clear, thanks Nizuki..." Replied Usagi, her eyes downcast.

The warrior took her by the shoulders, gently lifting her chin with a hand. "Usagi, I understand your fear. You think you will not be able to win against an entire world. But you can do this for certain. Have faith in your strength and remember your warrior pride. When you will return victorious, we will throw a party and Makoto will cook her delicious treats for all to eat. And you will be respected for your victory. Stand tall warriors! I'll return tomorrow morning to bring you to the spaceport. Now go to sleep!"

She waited for them to return in their bunks, and then closed the door. They heard her footsteps growing faint in the corridor. When she was finally gone, they all started to talk simultaneously.

Minako sat on her bunk, hugging her legs. "This is madness! We must escape from this place!"

Rei was nervously walking circles in the small room confines. "Bloodthirsty killers! They would commit genocide for money!"

Makoto was the most shocked. "T-they were so nice to me... how can they...?"

Usagi sighed. "I can't believe in an entire race made up only of evil killers. There's something strange at work here. Maybe the Void Jean told us of?"

Ami nodded at her. "It is possible. However I have remember you all the numerous acts of senseless slaughter committed by humans on our earth in the past and recently. Minako is right, we must escape from this planet, but if we lose contact with Jean-san we will never return to our universe. We'll have to wait until she finds the Void, unless..."

"Unless? Tell us more Ami-Chan!" Usagi took her hand in her own, hope burning bright in her eyes.

"I think I may be able to return us to our universe even without destroying the Void first. But I need help from Jean-san. If she can open a wormhole with her powers, even a small one, I can stabilize it with a negative-mass-matter stream. I can build a particle accelerator, if we find suitable technological supplies." She told mostly to herself.

"But we do not know where Jean-san is. And tomorrow morning we will be balled to planet kebab!" Ami sighed at Minako's usual confusion.

"It is planet Babke, and we will use 'attack balls' to get there. I think they are probably some sort of star ships. I will try to take control of these 'balls' and return here in a deserted region, like the one we found in at our arrival here. I can scramble this planet's detectors if I can get a look at them."

"We have no other choices. If we refuse to leave, they will kill us. We are in your hands, Ami-chan" Usagi told her softly.

Makoto took off her armor, boots and gauntlets, lying on her bunk. "Better grab some sleep then. We will need to be alert, tomorrow morning."

"I am not sleepy!" Minako complained, following her example nonetheless. A few minutes later she was sleeping soundly.

"Humph! She's right. It's useless to muse over it. I'll try to sleep too." Rei used her armor as a pillow, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

Ami and Usagi exchanged glances. They knew their chances were few. "You should rest, Ami-chan. Don't be nervous. You can do it, no sweat." She encouraged her friend, smiling.

"Thanks, Usagi-chan. Good night."

She replied softly. "Good night, Ami-Chan". After a while all the girls save her were asleep. In her bunk, Usagi was thinking of captain Maizen.

"How can they be so similar and so different at the same time! And why he is here? On this planet? Why not on this universe earth? Why we were brought here? Chance or destiny? I have to return, or Chibiusa will never been born! I must! If only I had my brooch... And about that, how could I use the _Moon Tiara Action_? Without transforming and without a... tiara?" She had so many questions, no answers, and a long night to think over them. At last sleep overcame concern.

The following morning they woke up sore and grouchy. "This bed is an instrument of pure evil! It's not possible to sleep comfortably on it!" Rei said, thinking of exorcising her bunk.

"Oh, don't be fussy!" Makoto was used to sleep anywhere, the martial art training in the mountains accustomed her to inconveniences. "I'll take a shower!" She entered the small washroom. After a while a strange buzzing noise startled them. They heard Makoto giggle. One minute later, she went out of the shower, completely dry.

"You should try that! There's no water! Only strange tickling sounds and violet light! Yet, I'm totally clean!" She told them amazed.

Ami nodded knowingly. "I must be a sonic shower. It destroys dead skin and bacteria by ultrasonic sound waves and ultraviolet light. It's very advanced technology! I read about a prototype of it in a science magazine."

"It's fun! Try it!" Makoto took Ami by the arm and pushed her in the shower. Seconds later, they heard her giggling too. "Oh, it tickles!"

"Let me try, let me try!" Minako jumped in the second Ami was out. Rei and Usagi sighed at the same time.

Rei looked at Usagi concerned. "It is always a bad sign when we think the same." She entered the shower, hating it. "All of this technology and no spirituality at all. It creeps me out... And still it feels like I forgot something..."

Usagi was the last one to use the shower, too tired to found it funny. She donned her armor reluctantly, hating what it represented.

Sometime later, the warrior woman marched up to their barracks. Opening the door she found them clean and ready. "OK girls. Follow me!" Without saying anything else, she led them through the labyrinthine fortress to the spaceport landing pads.

On a large balcony there were five huge circular depressions, full of soft impact-dissipating material. The attack balls were nested one for each circle, huge metal capsules resembling baseballs. Alien technicians were working at them or on the numerous computer terminals around the balcony. Nizuki called one of them, a small creature with a bulbous head.

"Hey, are the Attack Balls ready?"

The technician nodded, clearly afraid of the woman. Ami, taking advantage of the situation, asked for information about the ships. "Can you tell me how they work?"

The creature, puzzled by the strange request, at least coming from a saiyan, looked at Nizuki as for asking permission. She nodded, having figured out Ami inquisitiveness.

"These beauties have one seat, full life support and stasis equipment. The engines, gravity-based and faster-than-light, are built in the hull. The controls are easy and intuitive, installed both on the inside of the entry door, and in this small hand-held device, for remote control. The ball is preprogrammed for a specific destination and back, having no navigational computers. Mission objectives are stored in the launch pad computers and downloaded in the ball when needed."

Explaining the controls to the girls, he gave the remote to Ami. "Here is the master control. Use it to move unoccupied balls. I've already loaded the data of your mission in your attack balls. You only need to seat, fasten the safety belts and put on the stasis mask." He showed them how to do it.

"It's so easy even I can understand it!" Usagi was amazed at the ball simple commands. She fidgeted with them, and her ball started to buzz. "Uh oh!" She punched at some buttons, trying to stop the sound.

"Don't touch this!" Nizuki blocked her from self-destroying the ball. "Don't touch anything! Let Ami command your ball! You are worse than me with these things!"

"Humph! You smother my creativity!" Usagi protested to distract Nizuki and the technicians from noticing Ami, busily looking at the computer screens. The girl absorbed quickly most of the information she needed. "This technology is so advanced, the designs are easy and clear to understand! We may have a chance..." She made an OK signal to her friends.

"Enough! Enter and go forth, to battle and glory! Go, go! What are you waiting for?" Nizuki pushed them inside the capsules, dragging Ami away from the terminals, without noticing anything strange.

Once seated inside the balls, the hatch closed and a low hum emanated from the ship's bulkheads. Nizuki's voice reached them through their scouters.

"Nizuki here. The scouters will monitor your vitals and record the mission. You can communicate with each other and with me once on the planet. The signal will take two days to reach us however, so don't count on any aid once there. During the voyage you will be put in stasis. Time will not pass for you. You will arrive on planet Babke just in time. Good Luck!" She closed the communication.

Usagi stirred in the seat, annoyed by the mask she had to wear. "In time for what? Humph, this mask itches, maybe I can remove it and...whooooa!" The attack ball shoot up in the air at impossible speed, crushing her in her seat. Once out of the atmosphere, they found themselves amidst a sea of stars. "Oh, it's beautiful! I can see planet Vegeta from the porthole!" Wondering how fast the ship was flying, she activated the scouter. "Usagi here! This ship is..."

Her voice was drowned by Makoto's screams of terror! "Kyaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! We will crash somewhere! Kyaaahhhhh!" Ami was trying to make her stop. "Makoto, there is no danger, we are in the void of space! Please calm down, we can't hear each other..." But the tall girl was so terrified of flying she continued to scream until the suspended animation machines activated.

Feelings of drowsiness and a tingling paralysis took hold of their bodies, until finally they drifted in cold sleep, while the ships rocketed in space towards their destination.

Two weeks later...

Usagi's first thought was; "Hum, I've overslept?" Peeking under her weary eyelids she could see a faint orange light, coming from a small round window. "W-where am I?" Feeling something over her mouth she took her hands on her face, finding the breathing apparatus. She removed it after some fidgeting. Then she remembered. "Oh, yes! I'm in an alien body, in an alien spacecraft, over an alien planet and I have to kill all of its inhabitants! Cool!" She whispered sarcastically to herself. Activating the scouter she tried to contact her friends. "Usagi here! Do you copy?" She tried to sound professional, remembering the movies she used to see with Mamo-chan, on earth... then sadness overcame her.

Before she could start crying, a voice startled her. "Ami here! I can hear you strong and clear. Are you all right?"

"Minako here! All clear! I mean, I don't know where you are or where I am, but I think I am right, yes? Or no... don't really know. Then I may..."

"Minako, shut up for the sake of sanity! Rei here, I'm fine. Makoto, do you copy?" Rei was worried for her friend, given her previous outburst.

"N-no... I'm scared... I HATE flying... I'm s-sorry... when we took off I was surprised. I'm better now... OH MY GOD! WE WILL CRASH ON THAT MOON!" Makoto screamed once more as their ships almost collided with a large pink moon. The attack balls plummeted at full speed towards a strange planet, half red, half blue.

"Makoto, close your eyes and breathe! You can do it!" Ami shouted back. Her friend followed the advice, calming down once again.

"That planet is strange. It seems half of it is on fire and the other half is not." Noticed Usagi.

Ami replied while avidly looking at the beautiful view. "It is probably tide locked with its star. One side always toward the sun is on fire, the other side always away from the sun should be frozen. But look at that. The Moon is tide locked too, to the night side of the planet. The sun's light reflected on it warms the night side, making it habitable. It is a very rare planetary configuration that..."

"Ok, it's beautiful, I got it! No need to go on." Usagi sweatdropped at the complicated explanation.

Rei interrupted them. "Are we going to slow down any time soon?"

"We are going to burn in the atmosphere if we don't slow down, right Ami?" Asked Minako, absentmindedly.

At the last comment Makoto's concentration broke down. "We will BURN, then CRASH! Kyaaah!" She resumed her screaming fit.

"Oh no... Minako you airhead!" Rei sighed at her friend's lack of judgment.

As the ships hit the atmosphere at breakneck speed, burning plasma enveloped the attack balls, stopping the conversation. A few seconds later five huge impacts shook the earth as their ships collided with the planet surface. A huge crater, with five smaller indentations, nested the otherwise intact attack balls.

Glumpho Ed'gork Swuphlo, known as Ed by his friends, was happily driving his rotomatic towards the nearest city. He had his van loaded with delicious Vlogga fruits grown in his fields, hoping to offer them at the moon festival buffet. Then his vehicle was staggered by the five blasts and stopped for a while.

"What a pain! I should have replaced the sparkers... And what on Babke was that?" Curious, Ed left his vehicle and walked the short distance to the new crater beside the road.

Looking down he saw five huge white balls. One of them opened up. "It is a vehicle! What a strange design! Maybe they are alien visitors?"

A little figure tried to leave the ball, entangling in the seat belts. Then she managed to free herself, only to fall down face first. "Huff! This thing was trying to strangle me to death..." The alien being spoke galactic without any special accent.

"It is a sentient being, probably a female if I recall correctly mammal sexual dimorphism." Ed, as a biologist was very curious. He waved his second pedipalp at her. "Hey you there! Alien being! Welcome to planet Babke!"

The alien looked up at him, then waved back. "Hi! You called me alien? Guess I am... this is your planet after all. Wait a moment please, must take care of my friends!" The creature, a small mammalian female with twin head tails, opened the other four spheres, helping her companions out of the ships.

In the crater, Usagi was eyeing the strange creature that welcomed her on the planet. In good Japanese! She found normal for the saiyan to speak correct Japanese, maybe with a slight Osaka accent. But the bug creature? Giggling at the strangeness of it, she opened the spheres helping her friends out. Makoto had fainted, so she had to physically drag her out, with Minako aid. Ami immediately started to look at her unconscious friend with the scouter, analyzing her vital signs. "No damage, she only fainted out of fear." They sighed out of relief.

Meanwhile Rei jumped easily up the high crater wall until she reached the bug man. She bowed to him. "Hello! We come in peace. We are only passing by, to repair our ships. Can you tell us where we can find supplies?"

The creature blinked his six compound eyes at her. "Sure! If you go to the Moon's Festival, in the nearest city, you will find almost anything. The Moon fair is the biggest in our world." He smiled showing her three rows of clicking mandibles, not a pleasant sight. "But where are my manners! My name is Glumpho Ed'gork Swuphlo, Biologist! Nice to meet you!" He bowed back to her.

"Uh, My name is Rei, high school student. Nice to meet you too, Gurumpo Eddoruko Soufflè." She wrestled with the creature's name.

"Ha, ha, ha! Just call me Ed, Rei. Without two additional mandibles you can't speak my name correctly. We don't see much alien traffic here, this is only a small colony. Do you need a ride? I'm going to the festival." He asked her nicely.

"Uh, I must ask my friends. May you wait a minute?"

"Sure! No problem."

Rei jumped down to her friends. She felt wonderfully light. Makoto, having wakened, was staring at the alien bewildered. "Have you heard it?" she whispered them. "Should we trust him?"

Usagi scoffed at her. "The real question is, should HE trust US? Did you remember why we are supposed to be here? I say, we take a ride, reach the city, and buy the supplies we need!"

"With which money? We are broke, remember? And they are alien bugs, maybe they use women blood as money!" Minako whispered looking at Ed.

"Don't be a fool! He's clearly from an advanced species. They know of other beings, this is a colony. Maybe we can work at cleaning dishes or something else, to make money!" Rei chided her.

Ami nodded at her. "I don't think we have other options. The attack balls are programmed to fly back to Vegeta's landing pads. We have to reprogram them and I cannot do this without tools. So we need to go to the city. Rei tell him we are grateful for his offer. Meanwhile I'll program the ships to wait for us with the remote controller."

After informing Ed of their decision, he showed them the back of his vehicle. A sort of large open-air van with six large flabby rubber wheels. Dozens of crates full of ripe fruits left barely enough space for them to ride in. at the sight of the fruits their stomachs started to grumble.

"Oh, oh, oh! You are hungry I hear! Please eat some fruits, I will offer them at the festival anyway, no need to make you wait!" Ed flashed at them his disturbing alien smile.

Ami immediately scanned the fruits with her scouter. "Wait girls. This scouter cannot detect if they are edible."

"Maybe you may try the old one?" Remembered her Usagi.

"Oh yes, why not?" Ami replaced the new scouter with the other one. A flood of data appeared on her visor. "It tells me the fruits are good to eat! It even shows the mineral and vitamin content and is giving me dietary suggestions! This is a scientific scouter it seems, the others must be military ones. Useful!"

Without waiting any longer they helped themselves with the juicy fruits. "Hey Ed! Your fruits are delicious!" Rei told him. Her friends nodded in agreement while munching on.

"I'm happy to hear that. At the festival you will find a lot of other delicious foods! Can't wait to get there." He replied nicely.

Wondering why a biologist was working as a farmer, Ami asked him some questions. "Tell us, Ed. Why your people colonized this planet. It don't seem to me an optimal choice. And you told us you are a biologist. Why you grow fruits for a fair?"

Ed was happy to chat a little. The voyage to the nearest city was a boring one. "We came from planet Meat. On our home planet our population exceeded the capacity to sustain itself. So we are colonizing nearby planets. Most of the inhabitable ones are already taken, so we colonized this one, as no one wanted it." The girls looked at each other. The Planetary Trade Organization wanted it for sure!

"We found out later that this planet has an unusually high percentage of rare metals in its crust. This planet flora has evolved in strange ways, thanks to that. The food here is way more nourishing than on our planet's. We opened up a few large plantations and a great number of small experimental ones, like mine. I grow this fruits, engineered to be each as nourishing as a normal five courses meal. You must have been really hungry to devour five fruits each!" He smiled again.

"Rare metals uh? Are they precious?" Asked him Minako.

"Yes, they are. But we can't mine them without destroying this planet ecosystem. Better to understand it and use what we can take without damaging the delicate balance of nature." He replied, somberly this time.

"You are a good being, Ed." Makoto told him. "No one ever cares for the plants, but they are living creatures. They suffer and they love. Surely your plants know you care for them and give you a lot of their fruits willingly." She said with sparkling eyes.

Ed looked at her, puzzled. "Uh sure! As you say... But I gave them a lot of fertilizer just to be sure." He laughed heartily. The girls joined him.

"Anyway, Can you tell us about the festival?" Usagi chimed in. "Are there games, food and music?"

"Sure!" He replied. "The Moon Festival is our main festivity, celebrated once every 100 planetary years, just about 30 standard galactic years. Our moon, Celaeno, rotates very slowly in relation to the sun, while always showing us the same face. When it is finally full, summer comes to the planet, and we celebrate with a 30 days long festival. Everyone gives what he can freely and we drink and play merrily. It will be fun! I missed my first festival being only a little grub in the nest. Now I want to enjoy myself fully!"

"Wait! Are you telling us we may eat and drink for free?" Usagi could not believe it.

"Yes! You may! We will give you the tools you need to repair your ships too. I know a good astromech technician. She will help you for sure."

"Yay! We are good to go then! Thank you Ed!" They all thanked him, grateful for the good news.

Ed's rotomatic took them through the scenic alien landscape. After two hours of gawking at the strange sights, the girl were sure nothing could faze them anymore. They finally reached the city, the vehicle stopped in front of the entrance of a large plaza. There were no Ferris wheel or roller coasters but dozens of strange attractions dotted the fair.

Ed proceeded to unload the vehicle, while two babkians approached him. They were apparently responsible for culinary attractions. "You'll have to bring your fruits there." One of them told Ed, pointing to a faraway stand.

"We can help you Ed, as you helped us." Usagi volunteered, her friends nodding their agreement.

"Sure, any help would be great!" He replied smiling.

The crates were heavy for him, but the girls barely broke a sweat. "Uh this is easy. They seemed heavy but they aren't." Minako said surprised.

Obviously Ami knew the reason behind their strength. "It's the gravity. This planet is only five times our earth gravity. We have saiyan bodies, accustomed to ten Gs, so we feel stronger. The mass stays the same though, be careful."

They moved the crates in no time. Helping Ed to display his fruits, he told them to explore by themselves, and to return at sunset. The girls immediately went to enjoy the fair.

Wandering amidst the exotic crowd there were other aliens, of many different species. A group of them, reptilians of Malaka's race, spotted them.

"Saiyans, here? Guys we must return to our ships, now!" One of them told to his friends, terrified. Without a second thought they run away.

"Hey! What rudeness!" Usagi looked at her friends. "It seems they dislike us." Annoyed she walked away.

Her friends followed her, all but Rei. "I'll come later. Go on without me." She told them, running after the reptilian aliens.

Trying to reach them, Rei had to run quickly, thus making her presence obvious. "One of them is following us, let's fly!" They took flight and vanished in an instant. A minute later a spaceship blasted off the planet, rocketing away in space.

"How come we are the only ones who can't fly? Anyway… I have a bad feeling about this." She thought, returning to Ed's stand.

Sometime later the five girls were eating sweets similar to candy apples. Ed was telling them of the impending full moon. "In a few minutes the moon will be full and the day will be at its brightest. It is a moment of happiness on our planet. You are very lucky to have landed here at this time. When the countdown will go to zero we will toast to a good future and then dinner will begin!"

Usagi and Minako were literally jumping at the idea. "Oh this fair is wonderful, and the babkians are so nice, even with their strange appearance!" Chirped Minako. "Appearances are deceiving. Look at the saiyans, they are human looking and horrible." Usagi replied biting her candy.

"We should warn them about the PTO's plans for their planet, though." Ami sighed at her friend's carefree nature. "We will obviously not complete the mission, so they will send another team."

Rei nodded her agreement. "Right. After the dinner we'll tell everything to Ed. He will know how to contact the authorities."

The voice of an announcer drew their attention.

_"And now, the Moon is nearly full! -10, -9, -8..."_

The girls joined in, shouting the numbers of the countdown. Rei, silent, was having a horrible premonition. She felt terrible, without knowing why.

_"-3, -2, -1, THE MOON IS FULL!"_ the announcer shouted, and the crowd started cheering.

The girls looked at the full pink moon. "Oh, it's beautiful... it's..."

Transfixed, they could not avert their eyes.

Then they started growling, and growing...


	7. Chapter 7: A Warrior's pride

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

* * *

**Chapter 7, A Warrior's Pride**

Uncomfortably curled in a fetal position on the hard ground, Usagi groaned. The wind's blowing was the only audible sound. Her wakening movements led to a sharp pain in her left foot.

"Ow! W-what happened?" Sitting up, she looked around. The sun was rising, shining on a vast field of ruined buildings. Broken terrain, smoldering fires and smoke columns surrounded her.

"Where am I?" She anxiously asked herself, painfully standing up and almost falling down, due to a severe burn wound on her left foot. Her armored boot was missing.

Looking down, she finally realized the ground she was asleep on was not made of soil. To her horror, she was standing on bones, hundreds of thousands of bones!

Overwhelmed by terror, she ran in blind panic, limping and stumbling, until she was finally out of the field of ruins.

Having reached a copse of trees, she collapsed on her knees panting. "What's happened, where am I?"

Remembering her scouter she brought her hand on her face. The instrument was missing! "Oh no! I lost it! I cannot reach the girls without it!"

Fear and anxiety clouded her mind for a moment, then the years of experiences as Sailor Moon sparked courage and will in her hearth. "My friends... they might be in trouble. I must find the scouter! Ow!" A sharp pain reminded her of the wound.

Looking at herself, she realized her armor was damaged. Shoulder and hip pads were missing. The chest armor had been punctured many times. Removing it, Usagi became aware of a number of small cuts and bruises on all of her body.

"Ouch! I'm a mess!" Her undersuit was full of tears, big enough not to mend by themselves.

Strangely enough most of the wounds were already healing, as if she suffered them a few days before. The leg burn was the most severe and recent one. Her toe nails were missing, and the skin was red and blistered.

"It's not as painful as it seems, though..." she told to herself, examining her foot in horrid fascination. No other serious wounds were visible to her, but her tail was sore and aching, the fur all ruffled, impossible to keep around the waist.

She removed her gauntlets, using one as a makeshift shoe for her wounded foot. Then she limped grimly towards the ruins, in search of her scouter. Looking again at the bones, she shivered. "I wonder why I was sleeping there." Then she noted the strange shape of the remains. Reluctantly picking one up, she examined it.

"It is not a bone... more like... a bug shell? I've already seen this, but where?"

A beeping sound made her lose focus. It was the Scouter calling sound! Searching feverishly in the morbid mound, she finally found it. Hastily donning the instrument, she activated it.

"U-Usagi here! Guys! W-Where are you? I'm s-so scared!" She stammered quickly.

"Usagi-chan! I'm Makoto! There was a battle here, it's all in ruins! Reach a safe place and stay there. I'll try to reach the others." Her friend's self-assured voice managed to calm Usagi.

"Mako-chan! I'm standing over a field of... something. I fear they are shells... bug shells?" She was slowly coming to a terrifying insight. Shells... like Ed's, bug shell from a bug people...

"M-Mako-chan? I fear these are Ed people's shells... I'm going to faint... I cannot..."

"Usagi! Try to stay calm. Breathe slowly! Walk away until you cannot see the shells. Then sit down and wait. We will make it."

Following the orders she walked in a daze, until she found the trees and her discarded armor. She sat there, in a stunned silence. "Someone killed them and wounded me. How come I cannot remember anything of it?"

Sometime later the scouter beeped again. "Ami here, Usagi-chan!"

"Ami-chan! How... where are you? I'm... surrounded by dead babkians"

"I know, Makoto told me. It's the same for me. We will speak later. I'm sending you an attack ball. When it arrives board it and close the hatch. I'll call it here. We will be together in minutes, OK?"

"Yes, Ami-chan... OK."

But it was not OK. Thousands of deaths. A city in ruin. "Why! Why! Why!" Crying, she asked the sky, in vain.

Half an hour later, the attack ball brought her in yet another ruined field. However four other ships were there, to her immense relief. After landing she quickly left the ship hurling herself in the arms of her friends.

"Ooh, I was so scared! B-but you are all terribly wounded!" She jumped back when hugging Rei, she grimaced in pain. Looking at her friends she realized their wounds were as severe as hers.

The least wounded was Makoto, with several bruises and a single nasty cut on her left cheek. "Makoto! Your face!" Usagi cried. "Ami, Rei... Minako!" She fell on her knees, her strength waning along with her anxiety. "You are all wounded... I'm so glad you are alive... I can't understand what happened... so many deaths!"

Minako hugged her, then her detective instincts kicked in. "We awakened in different battlefields. Many miles from one another, wounded and exhausted. Thousands of dead babkians and no sign of the enemy! This situation stinks!"

"I agree. I had a bad feeling when the reptilian aliens fled from us at the fair." Rei nodded at her.

"Yeah! I remember." Replied Makoto. "You followed them. I forgot to ask you if you learned something."

"Nothing at all. When they saw me they took flight and in a minute their spaceship left the planet!"

"They left the planet? Maybe they knew of an impending attack!"

Ami shook her head. "We were the 'impending attack', remember? They probably knew of the saiyan mercenary work for the PTO. However, we may look at the data gathered by our scouters, and try to understand what happened from the registrations."

They looked at each other. Rei was the first to speak up. "OK, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

Ami nodded, than removed her scouter, the old scientific one. "I lost the military scouter. This one however has video capabilities. I started recording to document the full moon event, so it should have memorized at least an hour of footage. I'll screen it on that wall."

The footage appeared on the uneven surface. The excited voices of the babkians echoed from the small device. The Announcer was shouting the numbers of the countdown. "-3, -2, -1... And the MOON IS FULL!" Then a growling sound covered the noise of the crowd, growing louder and louder, until it become an inhumane howling! "GROOOOOAAAAWRRRRRR!"

The image of a terrified Ed appeared on the screen. He was shouting towards the scouter. "Girls? What's happening to you...? Y-you are changing... Please tell me something!" The camera's point of view was going up, until Ed was at least fifteen meters down. A huge hairy fist clenched in front of the camera, then smashed down on the poor terrified babkian.

A horrible crunching sound was followed by a shriek of pain. Then the camera angle changed to frame two horrendous giant apes, wearing saiyan armors in the colors worn by Rei and Makoto. The monsters were smashing the fair stall and squashing the poor babkians underfoot.

The point of view changed again, this time looking at two other monsters, opening their mouths wide, and then shouting waves of energy that destroyed immediately two city blocks in a catastrophic explosion. Then a voice cried from down below. "W-Why? I t-thought we were f-friends..." Ed was still alive, horribly wounded, but alive.

The hand of the beast who wore the scouter grabbed the poor alien, bringing him close to the camera. His grievous wounds were surely fatal, but his doom was to be much more horrible. "A-Ami please... It's me... Ed! Don't... no... NO! NOOO!" His shouts stopped when the babkian was brought under the camera angle and were replaced by a disgusting munching sound, followed by a swallowing noise!

Ami immediately fell to her knees, convulsively throwing up. Rei quickly grabbed the scouter, turning it off. An ominous shock took hold on the group while Ami, still gagging started to cry. "I killed him! I KILLED AND ATE HIM! AAAAAAHHHH!" She shouted, her forehead pressed on the babkian soil.

"I... was one... of the two firing blasts at the city? The armor... It was mine..." Minako stood up shivering. "I'm a monster... a hideous monster... we are all monsters! It was the moon! The full moon!" She turned towards Makoto. "They knew! They all knew! Malaka told us the armor would grow with us! Nizuki told us of the full moon! They knew we would have transformed into were-king-kongs! They framed us!" She started to hit herself on the head with her fist.

"You are right! It all makes sense now! They knew all along we would have killed all the babkians!" Makoto smashed her fist against the wall, cracking it. "I hate them! They made me a killer! We killed them all!" She continued to smash the wall to pieces, ignoring the blood on her hands and the horrible cracking sound of her fingers breaking.

Rei's eyes were glazed. Her premonitions failed her spectacularly. She killed thousands of innocents and now, by Shinto doctrine, she was pure no more. "The grudge of the dead will follow us for all of our lives... we are sinners now... I... am not a Miko anymore..." She sobbed while hugging herself, the nails on her hands carving bloody wounds in her arms.

"Enough!" Usagi whispered at her shocked friends. They ignored her. "ENOUGH!" She shouted to the top of her lungs, while standing up. This time they heard her. They slowly stopped to look at her.

"We are not killers, nor monsters. We are not sinners and you will STOP HARMING YOURSELVES!" Crying she slapped Rei on the face, and moved between the wall and Makoto. She was about to slap Minako too, when Ami anticipated her, standing up still sobbing and hugging the distressed girl.

"Usagi is right. These bodies... must be normal for them. Some sort of transformation. I wondered how a few saiyans could possibly conquer a whole planet." She coughed. "They thought we were aware of this. And the saurian aliens probably knew it too. We were not conscious during the battle; I think we were reduced to savage predators. Probably for the entire duration of the full moon."

Usagi nodded at her. "We are cursed, like werewolves." She took hold of Makoto's hands, gently kissing the bloody ruined knuckles of her friend. "Cursed to kill without choice. We are victims too. Remember that. Please..." She looked at her, the tears in her eyes mirrored in her friend's.

Rei, having recovered from the shock, stood up and put a hand on Usagi shoulder. "Thanks." She told her whispering. "Yet, what we can do now?"

Usagi turned to Ami. "Can you modify the attack balls as for the initial plan?"

Ami shook her head replied wearily, her normal confidence replaced by uncertainty. "Not without tools and time. I thought of doing this during mission time. But now we are due to return. Even with tools... It will take a lot of time."

"No. We have no time. I will not risk our lives on a very unlikely possibility. We'll return to planet Vegeta, to immediately contact Jean-san. Then we will hunt down the void and escape from this madness. I can't stand this universe any longer! I want to go HOME!"

"Yes. We can leave any time. The attack balls are already set up." Ami nodded at her, surprised by her unusual incisiveness.

"Then let's do it. Now!" She took hold of Minako's arm and dragged her into one of the capsules. "Go, go, now!" She told them.

Her friends complied one after the other. When all of them were in the balls, Usagi contacted Ami through the scouter. "Ami, time to go. Launch us."

The attack balls rocketed away from planet Babke, into deep space. Looking out of the porthole Usagi was thinking. "Mamoru... Dear Mamo-chan! Will you love me anyway, now that I'm a monster? I miss you so much..." Then the balls accelerated to faster than light speed, when they were mercifully put in stasis.

Two weeks later, on planet Vegeta...

Nizuki was nervously walking towards the spaceport landing pads. Captain Maizen gave her the order to evaluate the new squad's performance.

"Nizuki..." He told her. "... You have shown great progress in these years. Your strength is rapidly improving, but is your organization skills I need more."

She wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not. "You actually have the patience to listen and do something about other people problems. This is rare in us saiyans. So I'm promoting you to staff sergeant."

This was a good thing. Being a staff sergeant meant more privileges, better training, the access to elite mess-hall and various perks from the PTO technicians. On the other hand she would get all the annoying assignments every true Saiyan warrior hated. Like this one...

"Being all motherly with those poopy pants girls, tsk. What a load of crap!" Fuming, she finally got there, looking at the empty landing pads.

"Are they coming or not?" She asked coldly to one of the technicians.

"Yes sir! The attack balls will be here in 50 seconds, sir!"

Nizuki smiled inwardly. Being called sir every time was one of the perks...

Exactly 50 seconds later, five white metal spheres landed roughly on the impact-absorbing landing pads. The hatches however remained closed.

"Are they in there?" She asked again.

"Yes sir! The attack ball internal sensors read five power levels, four of them quite low however. They must be wounded. Permission asked for emergency extraction sir!" The technician was a veteran, he knew saiyans could return in critical condition, and had ordered his staff to be ready.

"Hmmm... OK, go on." Nizuki waved her hand towards him, wondering why the fifth one, clearly not wounded, was still in the ball.

The spaceport staff hurried to open the hatches, pulling out the wounded girls. Then one of the technicians screamed and was thrown away. From the ball emerged a very enraged Makoto, her hands covered in bruises and clotted blood. A nasty wound bleeding on her left cheek made her anger even more obvious.

"NIZUKI! YOU MONSTER! I'LL KILL YOU!" She shouted charging her!

Nizuki was so surprised she could hardly avoid being struck in her gut by a powerful punch, followed by an elbow strike in her face and a devastating kick to her chest. She crashed in the spaceport wall, damaged but not stunned.

She managed to narrowly dodge a nasty punch to her face who struck the wall crushing it! "What strength!" She thought rolling away from Makoto's onslaught. The tall girl was trying to extract her arm from the wall she completely punctured through, thus giving Nizuki the time to check her scouter.

**Makoto** beep **1997**

"W-what! She's almost as strong as me!" In the past weeks she trained hard to increase her level, the memory of the strange girls increasing their power at will burning in her mind. "If they can do it, so do I." However the secret of their skill eluded her. Yet she managed to raise her level to 2036.

She moved to attack the girl, still blocked by the wall, with a vicious kick in the neck. A lesser being would have been decapitated, but Makoto parried the blow with her left arm. However the sound of the bone crunching told Nizuki she inflicted serious damage.

Makoto finally freed herself from the wall, her eyes still burning in anger. "WHY? WHY YOU HAVE DONE THIS TO US? MONSTER!" She charged again, but this time Nizuki was ready.

"She's strong and skilled, but careless..." She waited for her to strike, and then dodged at the last instant, sidestepping her and kneeing her in the stomach.

"Oooofff!" Makoto stopped in her track, clutching her abdomen. Then Nizuki hit her with an elbow smash on her back. She fell down unmoving.

Nizuki kicked her viciously, breaking some ribs. "You stupid bitch! I should kill you!"

"Please... don't!" A crying voice told her from the crowd. Usagi limped towards her, pushing away the technicians. She fell on her knees, hugging her friend.

"She was wrong to attack you, but please don't harm her anymore..."

"She attacked me! Not the other way around!" Nizuki snapped at her.

"You sent us on the mission...we...we killed everyone...you knew of the moon, didn't you?" Usagi looked at her with intense accusing eyes. At the same time her staggering friends reached her, moving defensively between them.

Feeling dirty without knowing why, Nizuki calmed down. "Obviously! Every Saiyan knows of the oozaru transformation! How on Vegeta could a bunch of half-baked low-class warriors think of conquering a planet full of strong aliens as Babke without turning into oozarus?"

She looked at the girls astounded. They weren't aware of the oozaru transformation! How it was possible? Finally understanding she decided to explain the situation. "The PTO was keeping an eye on that planet for years, waiting for the full moon! I simply obeyed captain Maizen's order to book an adequate mission for you girls! If I hadn't, another squad would have taken your place!"

"But they were harmless... poor civilians..." Minako started to say, but Nizuki interrupted her.

"Harmless? They managed to almost kill five oozarus after a full month of fighting! They were very strong and possessed dangerous weapons. An Elite squad would have had no trouble, but for you five, it was a dangerous assignment!"

"If it was dangerous why you selected it?" Rei asked her dryly.

"Captain Maizen wanted you to clear the stain on your clan honor and pride. Thus Commander Nappa would have no ground to execute you for uselessness. Do you remember what he said when you met the first time? A difficult mission was the only choice. Win or die! Where's your warrior pride?" The last words she almost spat at them.

"Warrior's pride?" Usagi replied. She remembered her terrible battle with Galaxia. She asked her the same thing when she refused to fight her. "I'm no warrior. I have no pride to save." She shook her head. "But you are right... you obeyed your orders, as any good soldier should do. May I speak to captain Maizen?"

Nizuki was startled by the request. She could understand Makoto's reaction, but Usagi's... Her reasoning eluded her. "I'll call him. He will decide. However you should go to the medical center. You are wounded badly... now all of you." She smirked towards Makoto.

"You son of a..." Minako raised her hand menacingly, but a single look from Usagi stopped her.

Nizuki intercepted the exchange. "Ooh! She is their leader! I know that look; Maizen often uses it on me..." She thought while activating her scouter.

"Captain Maizen sir! Nizuki here! The new squad has returned heavily wounded, but their 'leader' Usagi wants to speak with you."

"Oy Nizuki. It is really necessary? I'm busy at this time." Maizen replied. He was to meet with a friend, but he worried for the bun-head girl. "Ah scrap that, I'm near the spaceport, I'll be there in a minute. Maizen out."

Nizuki looked at the group. Makoto was regaining her senses, but her power level had dropped to less than 300. "She was going all out, and now she is exhausted." Nizuki thought.

"OK girls. Captain Maizen will be here shortly. Beware of what you'll say; he's elite, far less forgiving than me!" She spat at them.

The eyes of the little group spoke of defiance and anger, not of fear. "These are good eyes, these girls have. I like them." She thought surprised by herself. Her scouter beeped having sensed an incoming great strength. The following instant Maizen landed beside her.

"I'm here. Now, what's the problem? You should be in a healing pod, not here blathering!" He scolded them. Then he noticed their eyes, accusing, angry, hurt.

"Why?" Usagi asked him.

"Why what? Woman your question has no meaning, explain yourself!" He replied, puzzled.

"Why did you made us kill them? Why?"

"This is an unusual question. You are soldiers, we gave you an order, and you fulfilled the mission. What else?"

"They never changed into oozaru before, sir!" Nizuki interjected.

"Why?" Usagi asked again.

This time however Maizen understood. Their eyes and the unusual emotions they conveyed. The sadness, the pain, not of the body but of the soul. His thoughts bringing him to an astounding realization.

"During the full moon you lost control! You could not even remember killing the babkians, don't you?"

Usagi and her friends nodded, looking at him with their strange eyes. Something inside him shuddered at the thought of the suffering they were evidently carrying in their hearths. But his Saiyan upbringing left him with no choice on the matter. Emotional response was a weakness.

"A true Saiyan can only fight or die. Death is the choice of the coward, and you seem no cowards to me. No other option remains, you have to fight. If you hate battles against civilian populations, I suggest you to train." He purposefully raised his voice to convey the importance of his words.

"Train until you master the oozaru. Train to retain control. Train until you are strong enough to choose the really difficult assignments, those reserved for the elite. Real war missions against pirates, enemy armies or space monsters. Train to master your destiny, until no one could tell you what to do." He paused, looking into their eyes, accepting the challenge he saw in them.

"Until then... your objective is to survive. Survive any way possible, even at the cost of the lives of others. This is the Saiyan way. I have nothing more to say." He looked at Nizuki.

"Next time don't call me for such a trivial matter, sergeant! We will talk again later." Ignoring the girls, who obviously wanted to reply, he flew away.

In his mind he wondered why those girls plight was so important for him, especially Usagi's. Shaking his head, he buried the thought deep inside his mind and hurried to his work.

Nizuki, embarrassed for the scolding Maizen gave her, barked her orders at the girls. "Go heal yourselves in the Medical center, then try to not cross my way for at least a week, or I will not be so forgiving, next time!"

They nodded at her, without saying anything, so Nizuki marched away to mind her business, leaving them alone.

"What now? I cannot even remember the way to the medical center..." Usagi asked her friends.

"Me neither... perhaps we can ask these technicians." Minako whispered. "Excuse me, can you tell us..."

Before she had the chance to complete the question, the alien tech answered. "That way. Turn right at the fourth crossing. The go straight until you see an old unused mess hall. Turn left two crossings later. Then..." He gave them complete instructions, speaking for one full minute.

They thanked him, then walking wearily they tried to reach the Medical facilities. One hour later they were completely lost.

"I think we should go right..." Usagi wondered.

"We followed you and now... it's hopeless!" Rei glowered at her.

"It's not my fault! He blathered for an eternity! How could I possibly remember that?"

"Then why you insisted to turn left at that crossing? You... airhead!"

"Guys, please, stop quarreling!" Minako tried to stop them. "We may ask someone..."

Ami saw a smallish Saiyan walking beside them while reading a data pad. She approached him smiling, despite her aching, wounded body. "Excuse me, sir. Can you please tell us how to reach the nearest medical center?"

He was actually a boy of approximately their age. Distracted from his readings he replied surprised. "Oh, yes! I was actually going there. You can follow me, if you want. I don't mind... Not that you bother me, not at all! It's actually a pleasure!" He looked at her curious, noting her wounds. "You must have returned recently from a mission. We must hurry, these wound and your friend's must be painful."

"Indeed. Thank you, sir." She bowed to him.

"No need to be so formal! You can call me by name!" He told her while walking towards the Medical center. "I'm Tarble! Nice to meet you!"

* * *

**Author notes:**

Thanks to All the reviewers! If you have any comments, questions, whatever, feel free to ask me ^^

By the way...In this chapter Tarble makes his appearance. He's Vegeta younger brother. I choose to make him the older brother, for story reasons. This changes nothing, considering the saiyan's youthfulness, and it actually makes sense. Why?

First of all, in the OAV where he shows up he clearly idolize his brother, and he knows of his great strength. Yet if he was truly 3 years old when he left the planet, as listed in some sources, he would hardly recall his brother at all.

He is shown as an exile due to his feeble strenght and unwillingness to fight. Yet, at such a young age even saiyan boys are dependent on their families, as is shown in 'Bardock the father of Goku' OAV, where King Vegeta brings his son with him in missions to train. It is unlikely Tarble could have defied his father's authority at 3 years old or younger!

He could have been sent to destroy a weak race, like Goku was, maybe with the help of the full moon. But this line of reasoning do not fit his story.

So I'm making him older than Vegeta, at age 17. Teenage rebellion is much more credible. His frail scrawny build and the saiyan aging process stopping at maturity explains his boyish looks in the OAV. In the main story he is despised by his father and exiled, sometime before planet Vegeta is destroyed by Frieza.

He ends up on a random planet where he marries an alien. The age difference makes him 53 instead of 39 in the OAV, still looking the same thanks to saiyan's slow aging.

As my story is set two years before planet Vegeta's destruction, Tarble is still there, having just been stripped of his rank by his estranged father.


	8. Chapter 8: The Forsaken

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

* * *

**Chapter 8. The Forsaken**

Following the small saiyan, Usagi and her friends walked slowly towards the Medical center.

"I knew it was in this direction! I was right! Rei, I was right! You owe me apologies." Usagi grinned at her friend.

"Humph... I'm so tired I might apologize only to shut you up!" The young Miko replied, while grimacing in pain. "I can't understand how you can be so lively with all the wounds we suffered."

"Actually I feel kind of better. Don't know why." Usagi told her trying to put more weight on the wounded foot. "Ouch! It still hurts..."

"The Attack Ball's cold sleep system releases a long lasting pain killer in wounded pilots. The effects subside in two or three hours, and are stronger after the cold sleep drugs wear off completely. Usually an hour after landing." Tarble explained them smiling.

"You seem well informed, Tarble." Ami smiled back at him, curious about the strange saiyan.

"I have studied the Attack Ball's user manual. It is quite informative. I can upload a copy in your datapad and... Oh sorry, you are probably not interested..." He whispered the last words blushing.

Makoto shook her head, tormenting her cheek wound. Minako, Rei and Usagi, looking at each other, were grinning waiting the inevitable reply.

"Actually I'm quite interested. However, I have no datapad at the moment. But if you can tell me where I can get one..." Ami jumped at the chance to learn something new.

"Really? You are... really interested in... studying?" He stammered bewildered. It was the first time in his young life a girl showed interest in anything other than training, missions and mating... He would have been interested in the latter... Yet no girl never ever considered him as a prospective mate. One once told him that, if the two of them would have been the only saiyans still alive, the species would have been effectively extinct. She was quite rude. He shuddered remembering her.

"Am I bothering you? Tarble? Tarble?" Ami asked politely at the boy who, lost in his thoughts, ignored her questions.

"Oh I'm sorry! Sorry, I was spacing out! Please tell me." Blushing tomato-red, Tarble tried to remedy his absentmindedness, but it was too late, they had arrived at the Medical center.

"Maybe later." She told him still smiling.

Entering the large chamber they met Malaka, the armory officer. He looked at them, studying their wounds. "Fifteen minutes of healing, tops. Undress and enter the capsules please." He told them dryly.

"Hello Malaka. Is Planthorr here?" Asked him Tarble.

"No my prince. It's his free day. I'm covering his turn." Replied the reptilian alien.

"I thought you were an armorer. Are you a medic too?" Asked him Ami.

Before the creature could reply all the girls save Ami gasped at the same time "My Prince? Tarble, are you really a prince?" Asked Usagi, speaking first.

Only then Ami understood the implications of the word. "Your highness! I'm s-so sorry! P-Please excuse my rudeness!" She stammered blushing.

Tarble smiled shyly, shaking his head. "I'm prince no more, Ami. My father disowned me, so no special titles are required. Not that I ever cared about them." Looking at Malaka he brought up his datapad.

"I was trying to make sense of these equations I found in the old Tsufuru scientific database. Planthorr was helping me understand them. Can you take a look?" He asked, sweating profusely embarrassed by the girl's gawking at him.

"I'm a bionic engineer, not a physicist. Ask Planthorr when he's back. Warrior, in the pods, hurry. I have other things to do." Malaka told them matter-of-factly.

The girls stood immobile, staring at Tarble. He looked back at them, not understanding the situation. "Yes?" He told them after a long embarrassing silence.

"Hem, Tarble..." Started Usagi. "We have to undress... can you please..."

"Oh, yes! I'll take your armor to repair, or replace them... they are quite ruined; you see these lines of fracture here? Please take them off so I can..."

"Tarble! Get off! You are not looking at us undressing, clear?" Barked Rei annoyed and at the same time amused by the young prince denseness. "He remembers me Usagi..." she thought while he ran out of the room scared.

"Rei-chan, saiyans have probably no nudity taboos. Do you remember what Nizuki said?" Ami told to her friend, while Minako and Usagi laughed out loud at Tarble's hasty retreat. Makoto ignored him, her face darkening.

"You find him funny? He's probably another soulless killer like the others..." She said, obviously angry.

"It is not the case." Malaka interrupted her, while preparing the machines. "Tarble hates fighting, and has rebelled more than once the King's orders to complete mission requiring 'population cleaning'. He is the weakest of the royal family though, so this can explain his reluctance. After his father disowned him, all the saiyans started to call him 'the forsaken prince'. No one likes him, except us technicians, that is. He is quite the sage. The only saiyan scientist known. Capsules ready, enter please!" He abruptly stopped the explanation, waving at them.

When Makoto was about to enter the capsule, the alien scientist stopped her. "That wound on your cheek. It is too deep, it will leave a scar. Just to warn you."

The girls gasped at the thought of their friend's face, scarred for life. Makoto shrugged. "I don't mind. I hate this body." She scoffed at the alien, entering the medical device.

The girls sighed, saddened by Makoto's black mood. Returning to their universe would give them their human bodies back and the scar would disappear, at least they hoped so. Following Makoto's example they entered the capsules.

While the green goo enveloped her, Usagi was thinking of what Malaka said about Tarble, and could not repress a smile. "I knew! They are not all born killers! Some of them had to be good people. Maybe he could help us."

Their bodies healed quickly, and by the time the machines opened again, they found new armors and undersuits on the floor. As Malaka said, Makoto's face was scarred. Yet, they hesitated to comfort her, wary of her reaction.

Speaking from out of the room, Tarble poked an arm inside, pointing at the equipment he fetched. "New armors there, hope they fits you. Oh, they will obviously fit! They are made of stretching material!"

"Remember, no peeping!" Rei warned him coldly waving her tail angrily.

"No peeping, madam!" He replied immediately, bringing a smile to all of them.

"Really, Tarble, you should not allow Rei to control you! She is always complaining!" Usagi chuckled making faces at the priestess.

"U...sa... giii...!" Rei growled menacingly at her, while Ami and Minako giggled.

"Don't mind them, Tarble; it is their way of expressing their friendship." Told him Ami, exiting the chamber. "Maybe I can help you with the equations, if I may..."

"Sure! Please take a look at them." Replied him giving her the datapad. Their hands barely touched, making them blush. Ami almost let the datapad fall down. "Uh, I'm sorry..."

"N-nothing. P-please go on!" He stammered shyly.

"They seem differential equations describing some sort of wave function, the boundary conditions are really complicated... Hum... It seems to be a dampening field meant to reduce the intensity of some "Blutz" wave under 17 million "zenos" of intensity. It makes sense to you?"

"Yes! It must be the main equation describing the working of the old Tsufuru Blutz Wave Dampers! You nailed it in less than a minute! In addition to being beautiful you are also a genius, Ami!" He said excited.

Ami blushed tomato-red, than she felt goose bumps all over her body. Acting mechanically she gave back him his datapad, and then walked away rigidly in a random direction.

"Uh oh! You told her the magic words! Makoto, Minako, catch her before she wanders away!" Usagi immediately asked her friends, knowing of Ami's vulnerability to such arguments.

"Really Tarble, you should avoid praising her beauty, Ami is very, very shy!" She told him laughing.

After their friend was retrieved, Usagi nodded at the others. "We should return at our quarters, but I can't recall where they are. And we cannot contact Nizuki, or she will definitely kill us this time."

Tarble, trying to avoid looking at the still red-faced Ami, raised a hand.

"Yes, Tarble?" Replied Minako. "He's like a child! How cute!" She thought looking at him.

"You can contact the control center from your scouter, using this command line. They will direct you to your quarters in no time." He showed them how to do it. "I'm returning to my studies, in the old Tsufuru science center. You can find me there if you need something." He told them hopeful.

Ami gasped, trying to speak without stammering. "I will come for sure! These equations are very interesting and I would love to see the science center!"

"I will wait you there, then!" waving at them "Until next time!" He said walking away.

After he was out of sight, Makoto sneered at Ami. "It seems you have a date Ami. He will invite you to dinner, to eat hot babkian steak probably!"

Ami's became white faced, and then started crying. "I'll never forget Ed's death! Why you bring this up now?" She asked full of sadness.

"Makoto! Apologize immediately!" Rei chided her tall friend. "How could you tell her that?"

Makoto's face softened. "Uh, I'm really sorry, Ami. I was a total jerk. But... I hate this place. I hate what they made us do. I want to hit them all until they cry... Even Tarble!"

Usagi placed her hands on the shoulders of the two friends. "We are still shocked. Tarble made us forget for an instant our plight. There is no shame in that. You heard Malaka. He is a good man. We should befriend him."

Rubbing away her tears, Ami looked at Makoto. "He works in the science center. I may find the equipment I need for the wormhole stabilizer there. He may even help me building it."

"I'm sorry Ami. I will never do it again." Makoto said, while hugging her.

"At last! We might be able to finally reach our lovely bunks!" Rei grinned.

"Oh yeah, the bunks! I forgot them!" Minako shuddered at the thought.

Less than an hour later they were in their quarters, enjoying a moment of rest.

"This is more comfortable than the last time we were here." Minako said while sprawling in her bunk.

"We are exhausted. We should get some sleep. Tomorrow morning we plan our escape from this madness." Yawned Usagi from her bed.

"You are unusually proactive, Usagi-chan. That's strange coming from you." Rei told her, raising her brow.

"I'm the same as usual, Rei-chan. I just want to return as soon as possible. I mean... this place has no shops, no TV, no karaoke, nothing at all! It's not funny! Even planet Nemesis was better, at least it had style!

"I know, right? They only train to fight... And eat. A lot. Hungrily. I mean... I'm hungry!" Minako's stomach awakened, growling at the mention of food.

"I think I'll throw up..." Ami said, hastily running in the toilet.

"Minako! Ami is still traumatized! Try not to mention food!" Rei barked at her friend.

"Yes, I'm sorry... I forgot... No... I mean I'm just trying not to think what we have done to them..." She sighed, trying not to cry.

They waited silently for their friend's return. When Ami was again in her bunk Usagi spoke again. "Remember what captain Maizen told us. While Ami builds her device, we must all train hard, to control this... oozaru. And to get stronger. I don't want kill anyone again, but if we must, I'd rather battle pirates and killers. Tomorrow morning we split up and search someone willing to teach us how to get stronger. Ami, you will go to Tarble's lab, try to get his help." Ami blushed, nodding.

"Makoto, you should avoid Nizuki. Do not pick unnecessary fights, OK?" Her friend sighed.

"I'll try." She replied.

"I will try to find Mamo... hem... Maizen. I may be able to convince him to train us. He seems pretty powerful, and kinder than that Nappa guy."

Rei worried about Usagi. Her slip when speaking the saiyan captain's name showed how much she missed her boyfriend. "Usagi... Remember, he's not..."

"I know. He's not Mamoru. I got it. I still can't understand how they can be so similar."

Ami had some insight on the matter. "He's probably this universe Mamoru. Same people, different lives. Maybe other versions of us live here, somewhere."

Rei shuddered at the thought. "Ugh, a Usagi for each universe... it's terrible!"

Usagi scoffed, pouting at her friend's remark. "It's full of Rei-chans too. But I'm not scared of this. I like Rei-chan even if she doesn't like me."

"Hem, girls, shouldn't we try to call Jean-san? If she's dead or missing, Ami's device will be pointless." Minako pointed out.

"Tomorrow morning. Too sleepy now. G'night." Was Usagi's reply.

Sighing they all went to sleep.

The following morning they marched together to the mess hall. They were starving. Once there they sat down at an unoccupied table, Makoto left them walking towards the kitchen. "I'll cook something. Wait a minute."

Once there, the tall girl searched for the big cook. Finding the pink alien near a gigantic soup pot, she waved at her. "Hi Boboghia! Do you remember me? I'm Makoto. I won the cooking duel two months ago."

Boboghia remembered well the humiliation she had to endure. Glaring at the saiyan girl with her porcine red eyes she replied. "Yes, I recall you. What do you want here, in my kitchen?"

"I'm only asking permission to use a cooking station and some supplies. Nothing you wouldn't have used anyway. I want to cook for me and my friends."

"Humph. Take that station. Supplies are there and there. You may cook, but I won't accept any more challenges, OK?"

"Thanks Boboghia. I will not give you any trouble, trust me." She bowed to the alien, walking towards the cooking station.

Losing herself in cooking always calmed the tall girl. In less than 15 minutes she conjured up an enormous meal, thanks to the advanced cooking devices of the station. "I could cook for a regiment, with this equipment." She thought marveling at the device's possibilities.

She wasn't aware of the other cooks staring at her trying to copy her recipes. Boboghia hated her all the more for this.

"Now, how can I bring all this food to my friend's table?" She asked one of the alien cooks.

"Press that button. The waiters will come to take it. Follow them to be sure they deliver it to the right table, or the other warriors will gobble it up in no time! By the way... How do you call these?" Replied the cook, pointing at one of the dishes.

"Thanks! I will do as you say! Hem… these are vegetable rolls with spiced meat filling. Fruit sandwiches with mixed sauces. Grilled meat and fried potato-like things. Boiled dumplings with you-know-what filling. Meat and vegetable skewers, and so on... Next time I will teach you, if you really want. Bye!" She waved at the cook, following the waiters who had just arrived.

When the food was on the table her friends cheered at the luscious breakfast. They immediately dived in, eating like there was no tomorrow. After a while they become aware of the hungry stares coming from the other tables.

"He, he, they envy us! Makoto you are the best!" Chirped Minako while throwing dumpling after dumpling in her bottomless stomach.

"They can all die of starvation, for what I care!" Makoto replied, looking at Ami, who was only fidgeting with her food.

Rei tried to reason with her. "Ami. You should try to eat something. Remember what you said to us. Saiyan bodies need a lot of nourishment to be well. I know it is difficult, but..."

"Don't use science with me. Please don't. I'm not hungry." Standing up she smiled weakly at them. "I'll go to the Tsufuru lab, to speak with Tarble. I will eat later. Excuse me." Then she walked away.

"Ami..." Rei tried to follow, but Usagi stopped her.

"Leave her be. She's smart. In time she will recover. Studying in Tarble's lab will be good for her, I'm sure of it." She smiled at Rei, understanding her plight.

"You always worry for all of us, Rei-chan. Sometimes however we need to overcome our problems on our own." She remembered when Galaxia stole Mamoru's star seed.

She never tried to contact him, unsure of his love for her. Never suspecting he was attacked, she despaired thinking he stopped loving her. "What an idiot I was... I did not trust his love for me." She thought bitterly. She had to overcome her feelings on her own, and this made her stronger.

"You have matured, Usagi-chan. The princess in you is showing." Rei sighed smiling. "I guess you are right. We'll leave her to her studies." She conceded.

Minako, having eaten her dumplings, took a serious face. "We should call Jean-san."

"Uh, you are right." Usagi forgot that. "Let's try... Uh... I'll call the central command and ask of her." The clumsy girl started punching commands in her scouter, failing to coax the device to work. After several minutes of quarreling with an annoyed central command operative she finally managed to obtain the code for the woman's scouter.

"Jean-san? Usagi here! Do you remember us? How are you?" She started telling her.

The runner's voice, coming from the scouter, was haggard and panting. "Uh, kiddo! Not the right time... Ouch!"

"You seem in pain! Do you need help? We can..."

"I'm training with Nappa! He thinks the best way for it is pummeling me to a pulp and then hoping for zenkai in the medical bay! Tell me quickly... he won't wait for long."

"Uh... that's terrible... But not as terrible as what happened us! You must speak with Ami as soon as possible. She had an idea. Here's her contact code."

"OK, I'll try to reach her if I survive this! He's coming again! Bye kiddo!" She broke contact.

"You heard that?" Usagi asked her friends.

"Y-yes..." Minako replied at her, horrified. "I hope the trainers are not all like him!"

Makoto was not of the same opinion. "Sounds feasible. I mean... saiyan bodies can take it, can they?"

"You despise them, then why you sound like one of them more and more each day?" Rei chided her.

The tall girl was annoyed by the comment. "If you don't like my opinions, then feel free to eat somewhere else!" She spat at her, immediately regretting it.

The proud priestess stood up. "Fine! If this if what you want. I'm going to search for something useful in this gods-forsaken fortress. We will meet this evening. Bye." Angrily she marched out of the mess hall.

Minako followed her. "I'm going to make sure she doesn't run into trouble. You know her... Laters!" She waved at them running after her friend.

Usagi, scooping up some more food, looked at Makoto. "You need to relax, Mako-chan. We are all stressed out."

The tall girl replied with a sad voice. "I know. But I cannot hide the disgust I feel for this body and what we did as well as you are. I simply cannot."

"I know. You were always the most honest and earnest of us all. But think this; what could have we done to avoid that?" She stood up, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Absolutely nothing. We had no idea of what happens to saiyans during the full moon. Without training we had no control. I'm so sorry for them, I could die. But we have responsibilities. To our friends, family and our world. So we will go on. OK?"

Makoto nodded at her.

Usagi smiled than pointed at the exit. "I'll try to find Maizen. Will you come with me?"

Makoto shook her head. "No. I'll find some place to train and sweat this stress out. We'll meet again this evening."

"As you wish. Laters!" She walked away, waving at her.

"You seem to forget that in our world I have only you..." Makoto whispered to herself after she left the mess hall. "I'm this angry for what they did to you! I don't care for myself. Yet I managed to hurt you all... what an idiot I am!"

A strong voice interrupted her musings. "Yes, you are an idiot! You promised to cook for us; instead you made breakfast just for your squad!"

She turned around to find out who interrupted her, meeting the eyes of a tall saiyan warrior. She vaguely remembered him. He had a distinctive scar on his left cheek, unruly hair and rugged good looks.

"What do you want? Leave me alone!" She told him standing up.

He grabbed her chin with great strength. She tried to pry open his fingers, even kneeing him in the guts, without accomplishing anything. "This man is strong!" She thought in panic.

"That's a good scar you have, I like it! Look at that, Toma, Seripa! It's like mine!" Bardock called out two of his squad mates, twisting Makoto face to show them the scar.

"Let me go, you... barbarian!" She growled punching him without any effect.

"Woman! Your punch feels like the bite of a Grokk! You should train more." He told her releasing his grip.

His two friends laughed looking at Makoto's scar. "It's identical!" said the little woman, Seripa. "It's really the same!" added the man, a tall and handsome fellow called Toma.

Bardock grinned. "I know right? She's the woman who bested Boboghia in the cooking duel two months ago. Remember her food?"

Toma laughed loudly. "How could I? The best meal in ages! You should kick off Panbukin and take her in our squad!"

Seripa grinned evilly. "Yeah! This way I'll have someone to talk to, instead of wasting my time with you ass-heads!"

Makoto was not sure of what they were speaking of, but she backed off slowly. Bardock was faster however, and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"OK, I will challenge you squad leader to get you in my squad. If I win you'll come with us and they'll get Panbukin!"

Makoto was sure of it; despite his smile the man was deadly serious!


	9. Chapter 9: Makoto

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

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**Author's notes: **Thanks for the reviews! From now on all the senshi will have one chapter each dedicated to them. Remember, I love answering questions about my fiction (no spoilers though) so feel free to ask in the reviews. ^_^

Sunshinekc: Ami and Tarble will return in Ami's chapter ;)

AnonymousZGirl: Read on and you will have the answers to your questions :)

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**Chapter 9, Makoto**

"OK, I will challenge you squad leader to get you in my squad. If I win you'll come with us and they'll get Panbukin!" Bardock was smiling, but Makoto, looking at his eyes understood he was speaking seriously!

"I must protect Usagi! This brute will kill her!" She thought almost in panic. This man was strong, her attacks barely affected him. He had immobilized her with only a hand. Usagi had no chances against him. Then an idea sprang up in her mind.

"Wait! No need to challenge my leader. She's not strong enough to be a real fight for you. Your warrior's pride will be diminished by such an easy victory!" She told hastily at him.

The man looked at her annoyed. "What do you mean woman? You'll come with us without fighting?"

"No! I don't want to leave my squad mates. But I will cook for your squad anytime we are here. In exchange... will you train me? You are strong, and I want to learn from the best!" She asked him while trying not to seem too intimidated.

Unexpectedly the man blushed lightly. "You want me to train you? Uh... I..."

Seripa gasped in surprise, and then laughed out loud. "Ha ha ha! Bardock! You never miss the mark, do you?"

Toma slapped the man on the back. "It's the scar. It's the scar, I told you!" Laughing he waved at Seripa. "Let's go Seripa, you know Bardock... he's shy, ha ha ha! We will meet up later!" The two warriors left the mess hall still laughing.

"W-what? Was my request so funny?" Makoto asked herself, puzzled by the warrior's reaction.

Meanwhile Bardock circled her, as a horse buyer would do to appraise his next purchase. "Yes, you are strongly built and tall. Wide hips. Medium length hair. Pretty face and I like the scar too." He smirked. "I'll train you. We will start immediately. Follow me." He told her bluntly, walking away.

"W-what in the hell my 'pretty' face has to do with training?" She shouted back at him, while following the man out of the mess hall.

Bardock ignored her and walked up to a balcony at the end of the corridor. Then he started to fly. "This way." He said while floating in the air, obviously waiting for her to follow.

Makoto paled immediately. "I can't fly!" She told him with a shaky voice.

"You don't..? Woman you are a real failure! How is it possible for a Saiyan of your age still not knowing how to fly! Humph!" Hovering down he grabbed her arm and lifted her in the air.

Makoto panicked immediately. "Put me down! Put me down! Please! I cannot fly! I'm too scared, please!" She screamed while Bardock, totally ignoring her, flew full speed toward his usual training hall.

The warrior lifted her in his arms, hugging her snugly. "I will not let you fall. Cease your squawking, woman!" He scolded her.

Held in his strong arms, Makoto felt a bit more secure so she switched from screams to silent prayers. "Oh spirits, gods, anyone! Let me survive this madness... Mom, Daddy, were you frightened like I am now when your plane crashed?"

Finally Bardock landed on the Training Hall balcony. He roughly tossed her on the floor. Being on firm ground again roused Makoto spirit. Standing up she glowered at the man. "Y-you monster! I told you I hate flying! Why you had to..."

He stopped her with a finger on her mouth. "Silence! First lesson, I speak, you obey. If you want to ask something raise a hand. Second lesson, flying is a basic skill all saiyan warriors have to master. This means you too. If you are scared of flying, you battle your fear and you learn anyway! Now, why do you need training so badly?"

She raised a hand smirking. He sighed. "I asked you something, woman! No need to ask permission to answer!"

Makoto was pissed by the man's lack of manners, but he was right. Anyone could fly in this goddamned world, but her! She answered his question. "First I need to master the Oozaru form. I cannot control myself when the moon is full. Then I need enough strength to qualify for elite missions. That's all."

Bardock scratched his head, looking at her perplexed. "Mastering the Oozaru is easy, it's a children skill! But becoming elite... Woman, I was born low-class and I needed ten years to reach elite strength! You have to train constantly and fight a lot of strong opponents to reach the minimum requirement, a power level of 4000!"

Hearing that, Makoto felt dejected. "I-I have to do this, please! Can you help me?"

"Cute and strong willed... I like this." Bardock thought looking in her eyes. "OK, we'll start from the Oozaru. Then I'll teach you how to fly. No complaining!" He added seeing panic in her eyes at his mention of flying.

"As you wish... Sensei!" She replied with a firm voice, steeling herself for a probably very hard training.

"What's a sensei? I'm Bardock!" He replied, making her smile.

"As you wish, Bardock!" She told him.

"Come with me." He said entering the training hall.

They walked in an enormous domed structure. Large circular platforms were built on the floor of the dome, others hovered in the air. The building was so large it could swallow whole an Olympic Stadium. Lesser domes were built around the main structure like a mushroom patch. Bardock walked in one of these, marked "Oozaru training facility" over the entrance.

Once inside, he took a pair of heavy goggles, replacing his scouter with them. Makoto tried to take a pair for herself, but he stopped her. "No need of that. You want to train, do you?" He told her.

Not really understanding, Makoto nodded at him. "Go at the center of the arena, and look up. You will see a simulated full moon. A lamp strong enough to unlock the transformation. Try speaking to me while I light up the lamp. If you lose control you'll stop speaking and I will darken the light. The transformation will revert. Then we try again. Any time you fail I will hit you with a power ball, like this!" He created a shining ball of energy in his hand and without warning he threw it at her. Surprised Makoto could not avoid being hit in the stomach.

"Ouch! I've not started yet! Why you had to hit me?" She asked at him angrily.

Smirking he replied. "Now you know how much it hurts. Try not to lose control or I will hurt you more! Look up, we are starting, and remember, say something meaningful!"

"What the hell I'm supposed to say to you? I can..." She stopped, mesmerized by the artificial moon light. Then the light vanished and she felt an acute pain in the chest. "Ouch!" He had hit her again.

"You lost control. Again!" He lighted the lamp.

"Oh I hate you! This training method sucks..." Again she lost herself in the light, and again she was zapped by Bardock's power ball.

"Arrgh! How I'm supposed to resist this damned light..." ZAP!

"Ouch! I swear, I will punch you one time for every..." ZAP!

"Kyaaah! You made my nose bleed, you brute..." ZAP!

"Enough! I'm tired of this..." ZAP!

"Ouch! Please Bardock, let me rest..." ZAP!

"I said enough! Or I wiLL SQUASH WERE YOU ARE, YOU BUG!" She shouted with a resounding voice to the tiny Bardock standing in front of her.

"Well done, Makoto! You managed to control yourself after only eight tries." He replied at her smiling.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? I... I AM... AN OOZARU?" She looked at her hairy arms and legs! She touched her fanged mouth! She felt so big and powerful! And then she recalled... all the memories of her fight on Babke while in Oozaru form returned to her in perfect clarity.

"PLEASE, SHUT DOWN THE LIGHT! I CANNOT STAND THIS FORM! I HATE IT!" She asked Bardock, her voice full of sadness and rage. "I TOLD YOU! SHUT IT OFF!" She shouted at the artificial moon, her rage increasing until it took the form of a powerful wave of energy, shooting from her mouth. The beam hit the lamp destroying it, then exploded on the roof of the cupola.

The building was evidently built for withstanding such attacks; the beam barely scratched the reinforced structure. She rapidly returned to her normal form. "Uh... Bardock, I'm sorry for the lamp! I was angry and..." In the meantime she was having problems to move her tail, it was all sore.

The man waved at her. "No worries, children always damage it, it's normal. Someone will change it. By the way, you can't move well your tail after transformation. It will be weak for a day! It's normal."

She shrugged, leaving her tail free to move behind her.

Looking at her pretty tail waving as she walked he smiled. "You were fast to learn control, so we have time for learning to fly! Follow me!" He told her returning to the main hall.

"Uh! Maybe you can start with teaching me that energy ball attack?" She asked hoping to distract him from that flight thing!

"I said 'you will learn to fly' and you will! Come here, you coward!"

"Humph, OK. But I can't fly! You will see..." She replied dejectedly.

"We'll see. Now, to fly you have to..." Bardock started to say, but a shrill voice interrupted him.

"Father! Found you! YAAAH!" A long haired boy of approximately seven years of age charged at Bardock, trying to hit him with a flying kick!

The warrior parried the attack easily, and then replied with a fast uppercut in the boy's stomach! Dazed by the heavy blow he received, the boy slumped on the floor panting.

"Stupid son! Never shout your attacks when you try to surprise your opponents! Now get lost, I've work to do!" He spat at the poor boy.

"I... I hate you! Always sparring with some woman! If you trained with me and mom she wouldn't…!" He cried standing up.

Bardock kicked him in the guts, throwing him against the wall with a resounding crash! "You idiot! If you have the strength to stand up, do not cry! Attack me! I'm ashamed to call you son!"

The boy looked at him with a look of pure hate. Seeing this Makoto could not stand it anymore.

"Enough! It's your son! Are you mad? You are hurting him!" She slapped Bardock in the face with her full strength. This time the warrior's head was spun aside by the impact, a red hand impressed on his right cheek!

"Do not meddle in this, woman! It's not your business!" He replied, amazed by her show of strength. Just an hour ago she wasn't capable of hurting him!

"Morons who hit children are always my business, you idiot! Now apologize!" She barked at him, obviously very angry.

Her show of anger gave Bardock an idea. "Make me!" He replied defiantly while taking a fighting stance.

Makoto was tired of this man brutishness, tired of the senseless violence, ashamed by her new-found memories of slaughter. She only wanted someone to vent her rage and sadness on. Clenching her teeth with grit she charged him head on.

Having studied karate since she was six, Makoto at fourteen was already a second Dan black belt. Five years as Sailor Jupiter taught her the difference between a real fight and sparring. So when she clashed with Bardock, only the man's superior power saved him from being smashed by her onslaught. Punches, kicks, elbow smashes and knee blows, they attacked and parried and dodged at high speed.

The boy looked at them amazed. His father had never fought like this with his mother. She was a low class warrior, unworthy of his attention he told him once. But now...

He was a Saiyan, and could appreciate a good fight when he saw one. However the woman still had no chances. His father dodged most of her blows simply flying away at the last moment. She could parry his attacks, but they hurt her anyway. Her arms were full of bruises.

After an intense exchange of blows, Bardock managed to land a punch on her chin. Dazed, Makoto was unable to dodge a power ball. Hitting her, the attack blasted a hole in her armor sending her meters away, sprawling on the floor.

"You are not strong enough, woman. You can't be elite; you can't do anything but cook! And you can't make me apologize to my son. I will kick him senseless!" He laughed at her, by purpose. If he was right... He scanned her with his scouter.

Meanwhile Makoto was beyond rage. The wrath of the righteous was burning in her heart. "I... will not... let you... hit him... again! Unforgivable!" She stood up, a bright green aura blazing around her.

Bardock's scouter was beeping madly. "Her power level is rising! 2500... 3000... 3500, It's incredible! She raises her power when angry! I was right!"

Meanwhile the tall girl crossed her arms over her chest with her index and pinky fingers extended, shouting while small crackling sparks danced over her head. _"My guardian, Thunder star! Brew a storm! Call the clouds! Bring down the lightning!"_ She raised her hands towards the roof of the dome while a loud rumble answered her prayers. Then lightning blasted its way through the reinforced dome, hitting her arms!

All the Saiyans in the room were shocked by the awesome display of power. Only Bardock was expecting something similar, but not at this level!

The scouter clicked again, her power rising to an incredible 10500! Unharmed she pointed her hand at the stupefied warrior, shooting lightning at him while screaming to the tops of her lungs! _**"Supreme... Thunder!" **_

"I'm in danger!" Bardock knew an attack of this magnitude could kill him, so he dodged with all of his speed. But the lighting was not a normal power attack; it was a _real_ thunderbolt, somehow conjured by the strange girl's power. Bardock crossed his arms in front of him, trying to soak up the inevitable damage.

"AAARGH!" He shouted in pain as the bolt blasted away his gloves and burned his arms. Yet he managed to avoid being hit in the chest. A lightning strike in the heart was sure to be lethal. However he was used to pain so a moment later, while she was still recovering from the powerful attack, he charged at her!

Jumping at the last moment he kicked straight in the hole he made in her armor previously. Bardock could kill her but he restrained himself just enough to make her lose consciousness. She was slammed senseless on the floor.

"End of training for today." He said gently, standing up to her.

"Radish, come here!" he barked at his son.

The boy, still amazed by the incredible duel he witnessed, stood up and walked towards him.

Bardock kicked the woman at him. "Bring her to our quarters. Put her in Sharotto's bunk. She need to rest."

This was almost too much for the young boy! "Why I must take her into my mother's bunk? YOU take her into YOUR bunk!" He let Makoto body slump on the floor.

His father looked at him, unexpectedly gentle. "My hands are wounded. I cannot take her anywhere." He raised his burnt and blistered hands, shaking without control.

Breaking out in silent tears, Radish grabbed Makoto from the floor and dragged her away, obeying his father.

Bardock noticed his son's tears, scratching his head. "Now what is he crying for? I can't understand him! Ouch, my hands, ouch, I cannot scratch myself, ouch!"

Looking at his ruined arms, he decided to pay a short visit to the medical center to fetch three medpacs. One for each of his arms and one for the woman. "If she's hurt she will not cook this evening!" He thought, flying away.

He could not notice the big mustached saiyan grinding his teeth in hate. Nappa was training Jean on one of the raised platforms, and they witnessed the duel from the start. "Woman! She was one of yours! They all have the same power? How can you raise your level so easily? Tell me or I will kill you!" He barked at his student.

The woman, battered and bruised from the rough training, stood up to her master. "I'm surprised too! She was strong, but that lightning bolt was amazing!" She replied. In her thoughts however, she was grinning to herself. "She's transcending her axioms! Awesome! I bet they are all runners like me..."

She was so taken by her thoughts to almost being hit by Nappa's surprise attack. She barely avoided it, a feat easier as time passed. Assuming a fighting stance she smirked at him. "Nice try! Now it's my turn!"

Sometime later, in Bardock's quarters...

Makoto groaned. She was laying down in the darkness on a saiyan bunk, no doubt of it. It was too uncomfortable to be anything else. Her abdomen was hurting badly. She was sore all over and all the more pissed at herself! "Why do they always defeat me with a single blow! Frak!"

A voice from the darkness startled her by answering her question. "It's because you use all of your power for a single attack. If this fails to kill your enemy you are too weak to press the advantage."

"W-who are you, where am I?" She asked, trying to get up. She found herself too weak, and had to lie down again.

A small light lit up the room, showing Bardock sitting on a bench beside her. His arms were enveloped in strange watery bags. A small device was fastened to each bag. Another similar bag was on her chest. On her skin. Bare skin... she was once again naked!

"Argh! You pervert! Don't look!" She searched for a pillow to throw, finding none.

"Don't make such a fuss, woman! How could I apply the medpac without first removing your armor and undersuit?" He was sincerely puzzled by her reaction.

Covering her crotch and breasts, Makoto blushed intensely. "W-what have you done to me while I was senseless? You monster!"

"Woman, you are being stupid! I don't understand! What you think I have done to you? I applied a medpac to the wound I inflicted. It should heal by this evening. So you can cook for my squad. I have a cooking station in my quarters. Try to get some sleep until then!" He told her standing up.

He stopped a moment before exiting the room. "By the way, that '_supreme thunder_' attack was a bit slow to charge but very powerful. However if you concentrate all of your power in a single instant, your stamina, speed, power and reflexes will be greatly diminished after that. You should raise your strength normally and use that skill only in dire circumstances. Think on it while you rest." The door closed behind him, but the light was still on.

"That dork forgot to kill the light, humph!" She pouted kicking the wall in frustration.

"I can turn off the light if you ask me nicely." A second voice chimed in.

"Another one? Are you looking at me in groups?" She can't believe the total disregard Saiyans had for privacy!

"This is MY room! And you are in MY mother's bunk! You can crawl away if you don't like it!" Radish told her, annoyed.

"Oh, it's you! You are Bardock's son! I'll go away the moment I manage to stand. Tell your mother I'm sorry for the inconvenience. What's your name, boy?" She asked nicely.

"My name is Radish. And my mother is dead, DEAD! You stupid woman!" He yelled at her, crying.

Makoto immediately knew the sorrow the boy had to bear. "I'm sorry Radish. My mother and father died in front of my eyes. I know how it feels." Despite the pain, she managed to seat on the bunk. "I'll go now." She tried to stand up, without success.

Radish, surprised at her words swiped clear his tears with a hand. Then he stood in front of her, gently pushing her on the bunk. "Rest here. You go when you feel better."

Makoto sighed at her weakness, lying down. "I'm sorry... Lately this is my catchphrase."

The boy looked at her puzzled. "What is a catchphrase?" He sat down on the bunk beside her.

She giggled. "Nothing important. Tell me Radish, why did you attack your father in the training hall?"

The boy waved his feet, clearly hesitating. "He hates me. I'm weak, weaker than most boys of my age." He finally told her.

"Mother and father were both low-class warriors, but mother never wanted to be more. Father instead, he wanted to be elite. So he trained hard and harder. He chose difficult missions. But while he grew stronger my mother's level never raised enough." His voice was very sad. Makoto took his hands in her own, encouraging him to go on.

"One year ago they squabbled and bickered and quarreled, until mother left him. She abandoned me here, telling me I make her remember him." He closed his eyes, trying not to cry again.

"Poor boy! How could she do this to you?" Makoto was angry again. Saiyans were awful parents!

"My father never trains me. He told me it is pointless, I'm too weak. So I always try to attack him. I want to make him change his mind on this! I can be strong, I know it!" He was shaking with pain and anger.

Makoto squeezed his hands looking at his eyes. "Tell me about your mother. How did she die?"

He sighed. "She joined another squad. All low class warriors. They took only 'safe' missions with a full moon or against weak opponents. Two months ago they could not take the mission they wanted. Someone booked it first."

Makoto's eyes opened wide. She started trembling. A horrible premonition made its way in her thoughts. "They wanted to go on planet Babke, but they ended up on an attack run on planet Meat's third moon. They were all killed before even landing!"

Makoto started to cry at the same time Radish did. "It happened last month! I could never tell her I still loved her! And father never said anything about her death. He hated her and he hates me!" He could not say anything else, as Makoto hugged him tightly.

She could not suffer this anymore. She had to take responsibility for all the evil she did. Sobbing, she took the boy's shoulders in her hands, looking straight at his face. "Radish, I'm sorry... so sorry... My squad booked the mission to Babke! Your mother died because of us! If it can relieve your sorrow, please hit me! Kill me! I cannot stand this pain in my heart!"

Her tears flowed on her cheeks freely. She sobbed crying as all the sorrow, the pain and the fear of the past months overwhelmed her.

Radish at first was angry. He clenched his hands over Makoto's, squeezing hard. Her mother died so this woman could live! He raised his fist, about to punch her. And then... He thought about his mother. Sharotto never cried with him. She never understood his sadness. She never defended him, trained with him, or said him a kind word.

This woman instead... She barely knew him, yet she even risked her life to stop his father from hitting him! She cried with him and understood his sorrow. She wanted to atone for his mother's death! She was so strange! Feeling an unusual warm sensation in his young heart, the boy hugged her.

"Don't be sorry. It had to happen. She felt fine being weak. Father always says one must first defeat oneself before thinking to defeat others. I never understood it until now... Thank you for defending me at the arena!" He told her, wiping her tears with his hands.

Makoto looked into Radish's yes. He was wiser than his age. They nodded at one another. "I can help you train with your father. I know how, trust me." She told him, feeling better.

"Yeah! I trust you. But I don't want to call you 'woman' all the time as my father does. What's your name?"

She hesitated, the nodded at him. "I'm Makoto. It means 'sincerity' and 'truth'. If I say something I mean it! Friends?" She asked him looking into his eyes.

Radish never had friends. It was a dream come true. "Yes!"

"Good, we wait until I'm healed, then we start."

"We start what?" The boy asked her.

"My plan to make your father train you!" She replied. "After dinner obviously. I'll cook for you. Someone says I'm a good cook. Want to try?"

"Oh, mother never cooked anything. I'm curious. And I'm starving!"

"Well, we have to wait for the wound to close... ouch."

Radish looked at the wound with a critical eye. Makoto was by now well beyond modesty so she ignored his probing. "Hem, it will never close! Father used the medpack backwards!" He quickly removed the device, applying it in the right way.

"Argh! Bardock you dolt!" She facepalmed, annoyed at Bardock's technical ineptitude.

A few hours later, Makoto's wound was mostly healed. She donned her undersuit and armor, thinking how frequently they had to be replaced. Then she followed Radish in the main room. There she stopped in her tracks. The place was a total mess!

"Y-your father never cleans here, right?" She asked the boy.

"Never! I clean my room, and that's all. My mother was even worse. She left stinking undersuits everywhere! I learned to clean by myself!" He kicked away a moldy breadcrumb.

"And they called you weak! Radish, if you had followed their example you would have become a criminal! Now... we clean everything!" She grabbed some bandages, probably the only clean thing in the entire house, and tied them over her brow, samurai style. "Let's go!"

"Aw, I have to clean it too?" Radish was not so happy at the idea.

"Yes! We will show your father we can do things he can't!" She was adamant. So he had to help her.

Sometime later, Bardock returned with Seripa, Toma and two others. One fat and mean, his name was Panbukin. The other tall, strong and stupid looking was Toteppo. When the door opened they looked inside.

"We opened the wrong door. Bardock you don't even remember where your quarters are?" Toma asked him smirking.

Bardock was certain of remembering the right door. "These are my quarters! Someone cleaned them!" He immediately knew the responsible as a delicious smell reached them from the kitchen.

"Oh boy! This smell I cannot forget! It's that girl's cooking!" Bellowed Panbukin entering the house.

"Wait! We are hungry too!" Said Toma following him.

Seripa grinned at Bardock. "It seems she likes to humiliate you! She cooks good, she cleans, she can kick ass! She's too good for you my friend!" She caught up with the others laughing. Toteppo looked at them then he entered the house leaving only Bardock outside.

"This woman will get me only trouble... I knew it from the start." He thought following them.

Once inside they found the lunch table completely covered with the biggest meal ever! Literally a ton of deliciously cooked food was waiting for them. They would have started to eat it if only Makoto and Radish had not blocked them from reaching it.

"What's the meaning of this, woman? And what are you doing here, Radish?" Bardock asked them.

Makoto tapped her index finger on his chest. "I will zap this meal into cinders if you don't promise to train me AND Radish. And I mean training, not torture! And I won't ever cook for you if you even touch any of my friends, Radish included! That's all. Your choice!" She and Radish immediately took fighting stances.

Silence fell in the house. Bardock's squad mates looked at him anxiously. They all wanted to eat the delicious food, but they dared not to attack the girl. He described them the incredible lightning attack she used to wound him. They could not take the risk to let her destroy the meal!

Finally bursting in laughter, Bardock put his hands on his hips. "It seems I have no choice. If you want me so badly I'm yours. I will _mate with you_ and train both you and Radish. It seems he already accepted you, and this is a bonus. But you will be responsible for him, OK?"

They all started to laugh and slap Bardock on the shoulders, congratulating him. Seripa grinned at Makoto. "Well done girl! Hooked in a single day! That's how it is done! Now let's eat!"

Makoto was virtually frozen! Three words echoed in her head... "_Mate with you... mate with you... mate with you..." _She snapped out of the daze and grabbed Radish.

"Radish! What do they mean by "_mate with you"_? I never..." She started to ask, while Bardock and his friends gobbled up the food she and Radish cooked.

The boy grinned at her. "When I saw you two dating I was very upset. My father started to date other women since he and mother broke up. They never lasted more than a month. You are the first I really like. You are awesome, I already told you!"

Awestruck, Makoto stammered while sweat dropping. "B-but I n-never d-dated your f-father!"

"What are you saying, Makoto? You asked father to train with him! This is dating, unless you prefer the old way of hunting together in the wilderness, but no one hunts anymore nowadays!" He explained her, raising his eyebrow perplexed.

Bardock choose that exact moment to speak to her. "Hey woman! Come here to eat with us! Tonight is our night! Let's party!" He slapped his thigh, suggesting her to sit on his lap!

Looking at him with enormous disbelieving eyes Makoto thought nothing worse could happen. Thus challenged the universe obliged, and her scouter beeped.

"Makoto? Makoto do you hear me? Usagi here! Rei is in trouble! She has challenged that Nappa guy to a duel to the death! He will kill her! Makoto are you there?"


	10. Chapter 10: Rei

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

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**Author's notes: **Thanks for the reviews! You made my day! *_*

Jewlbunny: Fortunately for Usagi, Makoto's quick thinking saved her. Now who will save her? ;)

AnonymousZGirl: As you guessed Goku (Kakaroth) has not been born yet. Rei's fate will be decided after all the individual chapters. ;)

Xipholynx: Your wish is granted! Here's Rei chapter ;)

Crystal: Here's the update ;)

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**Chapter 10, Rei**

Since their awakening on Babke she was trying to ignore the small voice whispering softly in her head. _"Disgraced... Fallen... Corrupt... Unworthy..."_

Being a Miko was more than a part-time job for her. She often told her friends of her ambitions as a career woman. However lately she was thinking more and more of taking the wows as a full-fledged Shinto priestess. But now...

She stopped in mid stride, shivering uncontrollably. "How can I think of that? With a million innocent lives on my conscience?" She asked herself, startling some random technicians walking in the passageway.

In Shinto, even the sole presence of death conjured _Kegare_; the uncleanliness, the defilement of the soul. Causing death was even worse. She, albeit unwillingly, caused thousands of deaths! Her defilement was beyond purification! The Saiyan spirit was clearly aligned strongly with _Aramitama_, the wild side of the soul. A side she always struggled to balance. Now there was no hope anymore.

Keeping in check her emotions she managed not to cry. She looked out of an open balcony, to the far away mountains circling the fortress city. She stepped slowly until reaching the edge of the structure. After several long minutes of silent meditation a thunderous boom shook the building distracting the girl and making her slip and fall down from the tall tower!

After an instant of panic she resigned herself, closing eyes longing for peace and relief. "It's the will of the Kami..." She whispered while swiftly falling to her death.

She never touched ground. "W-what the hell?" She told to herself after a full thirty seconds of fall. The tower she was in was not so tall! She opened her eyes looking around.

She was effortlessly hovering in midair, ten meters away from the ground. Levitating. Flying! "H-how it is possible?"

The universe was clearly sending a message to her, an unworthy soul! She received the blessing from of the air spirits, they saved her life! Hope burned bright in her heart for a moment, and then a Saiyan flew near her shouting. "Hey, take your flying ass away from here, you idiot!"

She was hovering in front of the entrance of some building, from where numerous warriors were flying in and out. "Oh! All Saiyans can fly, I forgot that! I'm so stupid! Air spirits my...!" She cried out embittered by her foolishness.

Concentrating she managed to move slowly away, gently landing on the street floor. She was still confused. "I almost give myself to death, and... I learn to fly instead!" she face palmed in total embarrassment. The universe was having fun at her expense!

Thinking about it probably her Saiyan instincts knew she never truly wanted to die. She remembered Maizen's words. Training, fighting and surviving. The Saiyan's way. "Even if it means bathing my body in blood and fighting death tooth and nails!" She clenched her hands hard.

"Yet I cannot excuse genocide or pointless war. I must stop this, in any way possible! But how?" She asked herself full of determination.

After landing she unknowingly walked away from the building, wandering the streets guided by her instincts. While thinking of a way to make amends for the death of the Babkians and stop the Saiyan's violence, she found herself in front of a great palace. A grand structure resembling a fairy tale's castle, with many towers and banners. Fierce guards protected the entrance.

Looking at the palace she was swiftly surrounded by a vision. The great towers slowly crumbling in flaming rubble. The banners strewn on the floor, soaked in the blood of the guards. Cries of pain and death everywhere. An immense dark shadow looming over the ruins was battling a lone gold light, while a rainbow of colors surrounded the city. Emotions of love and fear overwhelmed her. She started trembling. The vision remembered her the fall of the Moon Kingdom!

Her predicament had not escaped the attention of a little Saiyan, just then leaving the palace. Vegeta, crown prince of the Saiyan Kingdom was going to his customary training session. This usually meant crushing an entire squad of elite warriors in a randomly chosen training center every morning. Doing this had two secondary effects besides honing his combat skills. First, all the warriors would train harder to survive his possible onslaught. Second, it would instill in them the fear of his power. Young Vegeta at eight years of age was already stronger than his father, and everyone knew it.

Looking at the young beautiful woman gazing at the palace in obvious trance sparked the prince's curiosity.

"What is this worm doing in front of the palace?" One of his guards said. "Let me kill her, my prince!"

Vegeta scoffed at him. "She's clearly in trance. Look at your scouter, idiots!" They obeyed the prince order, looking at the strange readings without understanding them.

"Her power is unstable. She goes between 300 and 3000. And her eyes are completely white. Do any of you find this normal? Bah! I'm surrounded by imbeciles!" He walked up near the girl, then levitating he slapped her lightly, to make her leave the trance.

In Rei's vision the light was shining silver, a brave effort against an onslaught of darkness. Than a sharp pain roused her, and the vision dissipated, leaving her shivering. "W-where... what? Hey you slapped me!" She barked at the young boy, thinking of slapping him back.

One of the guards grabbed her hands, while another threatened to slash her throat open. "Mind your language, trash! You are speaking to prince Vegeta, heir to the Kingdom!"

"He must be Tarble's little brother!" she thought instantly recognizing the boy, so great was the resemblance. The gravity of her situation was immediately clear. She had to apologize at once.

"I humbly ask your forgiveness, your Highness! My mind was lost while experiencing a vision. I respectfully thank you for awakening me from the trance." She bowed her head, unable to move more than that due to the guards restraining hands.

"Vision? Are you a seer? Humph! Than tell me..." Started to say the prince, smirking.

"... Which of these two incompetent guards that are grabbing you I am going to kill now?" He finished with an evil grin.

The two guards instantly froze, disbelieving. "My prince, what are you saying?" One of them asked aghast. They knew him. He was fully capable of doing that on a whim.

Rei looked in the coal black eyes of the boy. She sensed loneliness, rage and anger, and a great, enormous pride. He was serious! "My visions are not like that! I cannot really control them without looking into a fire!" She desperately told him, trying to prevent a pointless death.

"You need fire? Easily done!" He said blasting a nearby tree. A huge fire blazed in the morning air.

The disgraced Miko flinched at the display of power. Yet her gaze was attracted by the flames. Again in trance she whispered. "The one on my left. You will aim for his heart."

The guard gasped in surprise, leaving her arms free. "M-my prince!" He shouted, only a split second before a bright ray killed him, bursting through his heart. His body slumped on the floor, unmoving.

"Correct! You really are a seer. Interesting! Come with me, my father will love to know of your power!" He walked back into the palace, without waiting for her. The second guard gulped loudly following him.

Rei looked at the poor man, whose death was ultimately her responsibility. Nonetheless, she already made up her mind about that. She clapped her hands in front of her, offering a simple prayer for his soul. Then she ran after the prince, the idea for a plan forming in her mind.

The castle was more impressive inside than on the outside. Enormous violet stone halls brightened by flaming braziers and full of black banners embroidered in red with the Saiyan Kingdom crest, something like three arrowheads over a bladed bow. In the throne room the King was speaking with two aliens wearing armor of the same type the Saiyans used.

"Lord Frieza insists, majesty! Planet Meat must be taken without destroying the defense platforms. The technology is of much interest for the Planetary Trade Organization." A tall alien, green skinned and handsome looking was talking to the King.

The other alien remembered Rei of the big cook Boboghia. He was taller and spikier however. He simply stood smirking at the King, to the latter disgust.

"We already wasted five platoons on that planet. We will send no more until a new attack plan will be completed!" The King was clearly annoyed by the two aliens.

"I can sympathize with your losses, your Majesty. Still I have to remember you lord Frieza's orders to obtain the Defense Ray Beam technology by the end of the year. I hope your plan will take this in consideration." The green alien smiled evilly, while bowing politely.

"Tell lord Frieza he will have the tech well before then. Now go!" The King had enough of the two, and banished them with a grand gesture. They bowed a little, just a nod of their heads, and then walked away smirking.

"They are being disrespectful to the King! I can't believe it!" Rei whispered almost to herself. Actually she hoped for the prince to hear her.

"True! My father should have killed them on the spot. But they are too strong for him. Zarbon and Dodoria are second only to lord Frieza and the legendary Ginew squad... For now..." The prince replied grinding his teeth. "Now come with me woman!"

Rei meditated on the information she gained. So even the King had to bow to this 'lord Frieza'. "He must be the leader of the PTO..." She thought following prince Vegeta.

Walking up to the throne, the young prince was addressed by the King. "Junior! You have already returned from your morning training? How many of Our warriors have you killed today?" He asked, not without some irritation.

Flinching at the 'Junior' mention, prince Vegeta nonetheless managed to speak with a casual tone. "Only one Father! I have found something other of interest. This woman is a fire seer. She proved it to me seeing in the flames which guard I was about to kill and how. She was having a vision in front of the castle entrance." He waved to Rei, signaling her to come forward.

Mustering all her priestly dignity Rei walked forward gracefully. She knelt before the King in silence, looking down. She knew for her plan to succeed she had to gain the trust of the royal family.

"What's your name, woman?" The King asked, while admiring her undeniable beauty.

"Rei, your Majesty. It means Spirit." She replied politely.

"It is true you are a seer?" He asked with a commanding tone that made her remember her estranged father. A politician interested only in power and prestige who never loved her.

"Yes, your Majesty. I have the blessing of the fire spirits and I can sometimes see the future in fire." She anticipated another cruel trial but the King surprised her.

"Interesting. You two, bring down the brazier!" The King ordered to his guards. The two strong looking warriors easily dislodged a huge brazier full of flaming embers from a chain it was suspended on the ceiling. They placed it on the floor in front of the king.

"Now woman, look in the fire and tell Us what you can see about Our future!" He ordered her, with a serious face.

Understanding her life was in danger, Rei knelt in seiza position beside the fire. Placing her hands on the thighs she concentrated on the flames, freeing her mind of any distracting thoughts. She was the flame and the flame was her. She lost herself into it, drifting in a deep trance.

"What is she doing?" Asked the king to his son.

"Look at her with the scouter Father. It is very interesting." Young Vegeta replied.

The King did as suggested by his son, marveling at the strange readings. "Her level is fluctuating wildly. This is very strange. But it proves nothing. Let's see if she can tell Us something useful. If not, you will kill her for trying to deceive Us."

"As you wish, Father."

Meanwhile Rei gasped and woke up from the trance. Bowing again to the king she asked permission to talk.

"Tell Us woman, what did you see in the flames?"

"I saw a great leader battling a white monster." She replied, still shaken by the vivid vision.

"Go ahead!" The King ordered her.

"The monster kills the leader and all his men. Then he crushes a big red sphere in his hands, and from the sphere blood come out. The blood fall on a blue and white planet like rain, and from the ground a million rays of light ascend to the stars, burning them. Than all went black and I woke up."

"What's the meaning of this?" Asked the King, annoyed at the cryptic description.

Rei wasn't sure of it, but she tried to give the King some advice based on the prophecy. "I think the vision started from the end result and went backwards to the triggering event. Other than that I can't offer other insights."

The prince interrupted the exchange. "The latter part of the vision could hint at the attacks on planet meat. The blood and the rays of light that burn the stars are a very clear giveaway. This could only mean that Frieza will kill you and destroy our planet if we follow his order to attack Meat directly." He told the King rather bluntly.

"Yes. We are having doubts about Frieza true intentions since the start of this damned invasion. Still this proves nothing. She must give Us more useful information!" The King was annoyed at his son's disagreement on the matter of the attack. He insisted on following captain Maizen's plan, while the King preferred captain Nappa's. However the latter failed miserably and they lost a lot of good warriors.

"I can try your Majesty." Rei replied immediately. Again she gazed into the fire, hopeful for another vision. It came almost instantly, her seer powers seeming to flare and grow as she used them. More than in her own universe.

This time she saw clearly a blue-white planet, surrounded by stars. One by one the stars went out, dimming the light on the planet. At the end, when the last star died out, the planet was enveloped in darkness. Than it was on fire, burning down completely. This time she came easily out of the trance and described the new vision to the court.

"This time she described Maizen's plan almost perfectly. And she had no way to know it! It is clear; if we follow it we will take planet Meat without difficulty. Why are you so adverse to it father?" Vegeta asked the King.

"Humph! It is a good plan, but it will gain Us little honor! Still We must admit she impressed Us." He looked at Rei. "Woman! From this moment you will be part of prince Vegeta's guard. Ask the castle servants for new quarters and equipment. If you need something for your fire readings tell them. They will fetch it for you. Now go! All of you! We have to think about what she told Us."

While standing up and bowing Rei felt elated. She succeeded in gaining a position in the court! In prince Vegeta guards no less! Now she could try to influence them through her visions, to smooth their barbaric ways into a semblance of civilization. At least until they could return to their universe. This way, she hoped to lessen the burden of her defiled soul.

When they were out of the throne room however, prince Vegeta smirked at her. "Good work woman. Next time you will 'see' what I'll tell you. Your real visions will be only for me. Do I make myself crystal clear on this?" He told her with a venomous voice.

"Yes, your Highness!" She replied kneeling to him, right fist on the heart. Her thoughts however were not so tame. "This child is scary! He is smart and powerful beyond his years, I'll have to be very careful with him!"

The castle's servants took her to a stylish suite. Complete with lounge, bedroom and a bathroom with real water! Asking for her preferences, the servants modified the suite to her tastes in less than an hour. A nearby hall was reserved for her fire readings. She carefully described the necessary items and furniture for the room. More difficult was having them understand how to make a traditional Miko attire.

They also replaced her old armor with a new one, of higher quality. She was given choice between many accessories such as capes, heavier undersuits and jewels. Hoping to impress the King, she selected a slightly more stylish armor in her usual red and purple colors and some accessories.

The servants told her she was invited to a formal dinner in the evening. She thanked them, asking for some time alone. When they went away, she quickly discarded her clothing jumping in a bathtub full of hot water!

"Aaahh! I needed a _real_ bath! I'm returning back to life!" She thought how much her friends would have liked to bath with real water. Sighing she groped for her scouter on the bathroom floor. Better to tell them she was fine.

"Usagi? I'm Rei. Do you hear me?" She asked after activating her call code.

"Rei-chan, are you OK? Is Minako with you?" Her friend replied immediately. She was clearly worried for her.

"I'm well, thank you." She was about to tell her of her 'promotion' but the thought of someone listening on their scouter channel prompted her to refrain. "I... made some acquaintances. I will stay out for the night. But everything is OK. Umm... Wait a moment, Minako? She's not here!" She had not seen her friends since breakfast.

"She's not there? But she came after you this morning! I'll try to reach her. I'll call you later! Bye Rei-chan!"

"Wait Usagi! I could not be able to reply this evening... uff!" Her friend had cut off the call. Rei's imagination created in her mind a scene in which Usagi called her continuously over her dinner with the King! "Better to block her calls for a while." she thought programming the device to ignore any contact from her friends.

Standing up from the bath she entered the sonic drier. In an instant she was ready. Wearing her new undersuit and armor she left her hair fall wild, having noticed Saiyans preferred natural hairstyles over complicated ones. Looking at herself on a mirrored wall she made some last minute adjustment, selecting a pair of flame shaped earrings made of shining red metal. She draped a long sleeveless red overcoat over the armor and walked out of the suite.

A guard was standing in the corridor. She walked slowly up to him, looking at his face to appraise the effect her image was having. A good effect to be sure, as the guard started sweating, blushing slightly as she stopped only inches from his chest.

"Please, brave warrior, can you tell me how to reach the hall for this evening dinner? The King demanded my presence, but I'm new in this castle, you know..." She whispered in his ear.

Gulping down, the guard replied immediately. "Yes, my lady. I'm here to escort you. Follow me please!" He slowly walked away, still nervous. The stunning beauty of the woman unnerved him. The King and the Prince obviously valued her, and many guards were killed for the wrong stare at the wrong moment!

The dining hall if possible even more grand than the throne room. Obviously eating was very important for the Saiyans, so Rei wasn't surprised at all by this. The guard escorted her to her seat, left of the King. She was the last to arrive, as she had hoped.

Bowing graciously to the King and a moment later to the prince she waited for their approval. The king motioned for her to sit, pleased by her beauty and composure. Prince Vegeta scoffed inwardly at her actions, but kept a smiling facade for the benefit of the King.

Rei looked at the guests, a dozen of warriors of both sexes. Beside the King and his son she recognized only three, captain Maizen, captain Nappa and her acquaintance Jean, the Runner! "What is she doing here?" She thought.

The woman was wearing a new armor, not too dissimilar to hers. The other guests were probably all elite fighters. Their appearance and countenance a cut above the other Saiyans, if not in sophistication at least in pride.

"Now that we are all here, We want to introduce to you Our new subordinate; the fire-seer Rei. She demonstrated her powers to Us this morning, so We decided to let her come to the following war councils." The King said while the servants started to bring on the table some huge trays full of tantalizing foods. Maizen nodded at her, somehow not surprised to see one of the once weak girls at the king's side. Nappa instead glowered at her.

"And now, eat to your heart content!" The King bellowed taking hold of a humongous piece of meat and starting to chomp it. To Rei dismay everyone save her started to gobble up the food without any restraint!

She was hungry too, her Saiyan metabolism requiring food to counter the effects of gravity on her body. Nonetheless she managed to restrain herself eating with modesty and dignity. The secret was eating faster!

During the dinner her eyes crossed Jean's. A disembodied voice echoed in her mind. "Jean to Rei, do you hear me? I'm speaking telepathically. Jean to Rei…"

Telepathy! This was new for the Miko. She tried to think back. "I hear you Jean-san. Are you an Esper?" She told her with her mind, now very curious. She never met anyone with powers similar to hers.

Meanwhile the Saiyans were still eating like hungry wolves! Chomp! Munch!

"Not really. It's more complicated than that, but I'll leave quantum physics lessons to Ami. Hear me out, I've something important to tell you." The woman replied.

Glomp! Gobble! Crunch!

"Tell me." Rei tried to take a slice of bread from a basket but a female warrior scooped it up before she could. She retorted stealing some dumplings from under her nose.

Munch! Slobber! Glub!

"I managed to be rated as Elite. The skill at raising my power level caught the interest of the King, and now I'm in the perfect position for searching the Void. I was thinking it must be someone without real fighting power, or he will succumb to his instincts and lash out against anyone crossing his path." The woman wrestled a hunk of meat from Nappa's hand, chomping it down before he could do the same.

Chomp! Gobble, gobble! Munch!

Rei reasoned on the information. It made sense. A creature born of destruction blessed with great power rarely resorted to subterfuge, unless unable to do otherwise. "Are you sure it is not sealed or something similar?" She asked while waiting for the opportunity to snatch some pickled vegetables.

Gnam! Crunch! Slurp!

"It's a possibility. But it is difficult. Normal beings cannot imprison a Void for long. It can control karma, like I can. It will free itself in an instant. No, it has to be a weak creature." She replied after a short pause. Then she grabbed quickly some meatballs, swiftly eating them.

Much! Munch! Gobble!

"It is not a Saiyan then. They are all very violent. Maybe a PTO technician?" Rei replied while eating fish fillets with hasty dignity.

Champ! Glub! Gnaw!

"I was thinking about the same. Someone with the opportunity to cause great harm and destruction. Keep your eyes open. Now that we are both in the King's court we can cooperate and end this game faster. And more important…"

"Yes?"

"…Could you pass me the salt please?" She asked her frivolously.

"Jean-san! I thought you were more serious!" She mind-barked, while throwing at her the shaker.

"You don't know me at all, then!" The Runner chuckled, cutting off the telepathic conversation and grabbing the item on the fly.

Slobber! Slurp! Munch! GOBBLE!

The sound of Saiyans eating echoed into Rei's ears, making her blush. She did not pay them attention while mind-speaking with Jean. Sighing Rei resumed eating, thinking about what she said to her. Capturing the Void and saving the entire universe… this was also a good way to atone for the Babkian deaths she caused.

When the dinner was almost finished, her musings were interrupted by the King's voice. "My captains, We have an announcement to make. After long pondering We have decided to follow captain Maizen's plan for the Meatian campaign. The previous plan succeeded only in making us lose good warriors. We were even scolded by lord Frieza! His two minions had the nerve to 'remember' Us his orders! In Our throne room!"

A murmur of indignation came from the assembly. Captain Nappa stood up, enraged. "My plan is flawless! We only have to throw more low-class trash at that planet. Once we have overwhelmed their defense lines we move in with the elite and they will be history!"

The King raised his brow at the captain's rage. "This is the heart of the problem… Their defenses are strong and low-class warriors are not enough. Perhaps you want to test them personally with your squad?"

Nappa was brutish but not entirely stupid. He saw the terrible power of the Defense Ray Beam. No attack ball ever reached planet Meat or one of his moons. "Still I don't see how Maizen's plan will be of any use in our situation! Sure we can conquer a lot of underdeveloped Meatian colony planets with it, but the home planet?"

Maizen, composed as usual, took the opportunity to explain once again his strategy. "Your Majesty?" Receiving a nod he talked on. "Hitting hard their colonies like Babke and Kyubarb without wiping out the entire population, is an indirect attack on Meat."

Rei was surprised by the statement. Not wiping out the population?

"As you know, meat is sorely overpopulated. They colonized other planets to relieve their home ecosystem of the population pressure. By allowing the victims of our assaults to flee back to meat we will strain their resources to the limit." He continued to explain.

"Wait!" Rei stopped him. "You mean the Babkians are not all dead?" She asked him trembling with hope.

All the Saiyans at the table looked at the King, waiting to see if he approved her interruption. The King smiled without saying anything.

Maizen nodded at her. "Only the Babkian military was destroyed by your attack, most of the citizens escaped by starship back on Meat. I expected this result when I prepared the attack. Your squad did a fine work."

Rei slumped on her seat, completely worn out. Sighing she managed to compose herself. "Thank you for the explanation, captain." She turned to the king. "I apologize for interrupting, your majesty." The king nodded at her, signaling at Maizen to go on.

Rei was immensely relieved from the news. They killed the army and some unfortunate civilians, but were not responsible for genocide! This changed nothing for her, but her friends would be happy to know. A cough echoed in her mind, startling her!

"Rei, think fast. You should pay attention to Maizen explanation." Jean was mind-speaking to her again!

Bowing slightly to her, Rei tried to do as she suggested.

"… and once their resources are depleted we will have simply to blast any ship coming or leaving the planet, to stop resupply. They'll have to surrender sooner or later. This way we'll have the planet and all the infrastructures intact." He finished.

Most of the captains clearly didn't like his strategy. "It's a coward's plan!" Shouted Nappa, even more enraged. "We should charge them and smash them and…" he was spitting on the table, much to Rei's disgust.

She had enough of his blathering. Standing up she rebuked him. "Frieza's orders require to take the Defense Ray Platforms intact. Do you think you can do this in a frontal assault? This is not a matter of pride, but of completing the mission!"

Prince Vegeta was having fun at the conversation. He always thought Nappa a total idiot. He had some usefulness however, like a vicious guard dog. This time however he was out of his bounds. Someone had to put him down, and the new girl still had to prove her mettle to the captains. To stir up the situation he spoke up. "I agree with the woman. Your plan sucks badly Nappa!"

Rei turned to look at him. "I've not said anything like that…"

But the big Saiyan was already fuming. Being ridiculed in front of his peers by a newbie was too much. "You scum! I should have killed you when we first met! Return to your trash mound, low-class whore!" He screamed at her, while shaking his huge fists.

The assembly gasped at the insults. Any warrior so disrespected would try to kill his offender immediately! They all looked at Rei.

"Uh, oh. I screwed up badly… Prince Vegeta set me up!" She thought, a bit too late while Jean face palmed. Mustering her courage, she managed to remain impassible. Now she had no choice.

Speaking with a dignified tone she addressed her nemesis. "If the almighty captain Nappa is so convinced of his superiority, then he should have no problem facing me in duel tomorrow morning, in the castle's courtyard."

"Why not now? You fear me, bitch!" He replied almost spitting.

"And ruin the mood of the banquet our Lord had invited us to? You are really an uncouth barbarian, are you? Anyway, killing you in the morning will be the perfect flavoring for my breakfast." She replied smirking at him.

Prince Vegeta laughed hard at her reply, immediately imitated by most of the captains and the King. Nappa blushed grinding his teeth. "Fine! Tomorrow morning I will crush you into the dirt! Then I'll have a good breakfast!" He replied shouting. Then he walked away furious.

"And he forgot to salute his Lord, what an ignorant lout!" She said, bowing to the King. "Again I ask forgiveness for interrupting, your majesty."

"Don't mind that, woman! It was very funny. Someone had to put Nappa in his place sooner or later." The king replied smiling maliciously. "Now We will retire in our chambers. Tomorrow morning We expect a good battle. Try not to disappoint Us. You can go!" He waved at the guests, signaling the end of the dinner.

Returning to her suite Rei met Jean, worried for her. "Nappa will use you to mop up the courtyard, do you know that?" She told her dryly.

The disgraced Miko shrugged at the notion. "We will see. I'm stronger after all the beatings we endured. And Nappa _really_ is an idiot."

"Maybe you are right. But he is a _powerful_ idiot. His power level is only 4000 on scouters, but his resistance and stamina are more like on the 7000 level." The woman informed her.

"How do you know that?" Rei asked interested.

"I will explain later. Now it is better to call your friends and inform them of the situation. We have to find a way to make you survive the duel."

"Good idea. I blocked the scouter earlier, let see if someone called me." She punched the commands in the device, and a long list was visualized on her screen.

"I was right! Usagi called 23 times! The King would have killed me had I not blocked her calls! She can be such a worrywart at times!" She inserted her friend's code, calling back.

"Reiiii-chan!Iwassoworriedforyou!Tellmewhatitishappened!Ohmygodareyouwell…" Usagi's voice reached even Jean ears, so high was the volume.

"Ouch, Usagi! Pleas slow down! I'm still OK. Are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm a bit lonely here, in our quarters… Still no one showed up. I can't reach Makoto, her scouter is off. Ami is still with Tarble and Minako is playing some game. And you?"

"Hem… I have good news. The Babkians… it seems most of the population escaped by starship. We only fought against their army." She started to tell her.

"Oh, this is good news! That poor people, I'm glad to hear that."

Rei gulped down hard. "And then, I was promoted court-seer by the King and challenged captain Nappa to a duel to the death. Cool eh?"

"Court seer? Nice! They will pay you for it or something… wait! You challenged that Nappa monster to a death duel? Are you mad? And you always tell me to keep a cool head! How can you do something so unwise? I can't tell you how this is…"

She hastily removed the scouter while Usagi's high pitched scolding buzzed from the speakers, threatening to deafen her.

Sweat dropping Rei sighed at Jean. "She doesn't handle bad news very well …"


	11. Chapter 11: Minako

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

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**Author's notes: **Thanks for the reviews! You made my day! :)

AnonymousZGirl: Nappa is strong but Rei is a Senshi. Will her powers awake in time for the duel? As for now, Usagi, Makoto and Minako had awakened their powers, so there is still hope!

Crystal: Thanks!

Xipholynx: As you can see, it's Minako's turn. Next will be… no spoilers XD

Sunshinekc: Thanks! Wish granted!

Jewlbunny: Thanks! I have the full Fic planned out up to the last chapter, so I will finish it for sure!

Whiteling: Bardock will be very surprised. Makoto is not your typical Saiyan lady! I think King Vegeta would use anything in battle, even magic if proven real.

Energywitch: Thanks! Frieza will star in the second half of the Fic. When the _real_ slaughter will start… he he he (evil laugh).

After the chapters dedicated to each senshi, I thought to add some of my notes for the Fic in a special add-on to each chapter called "Ami's notebook". Tell me in the reviews if you are interested in reading them. ;)

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**Chapter 11, Minako**

Minako ran out the mess hall, following the angered Rei. Once outside she cursed under her breath. "Crap! This place is crowded like a shopping mall on Sunday!"

Looking everywhere she found three different hallways, and Rei was not in any of them! "Where did she go in such a short time?"

Puzzled by her disappearance Minako chose a random direction. "Maybe this way?"

Walking quickly she searched for her friend in the long hallway. She crossed many side passages and exotic elevators until finally she reached a huge chamber. The writing over the entrance read as; "Training hall #3 – Advanced level"

"Oh, this sounds interesting! Let's go!" Her friend totally forgot she entered the building, snooping around curiously.

On the inside the structure was divided in large platforms and strange transparent spheres suspended on the walls of the building. Each sphere had in it some sort of different habitat. Deserts, ice fields, plain ground and so on. The only visible entrance of the spheres was on the top, where they had a circular opening. Now, how to reach one of the openings? No stairs lift or elevators were visible, so one had to… fly?

"They all know how to fly! I must learn too!" She decided putting on a resolute face. Then she remembered Rei. "Ops! First thing, I must reach her."

She punched in Rei's code on the scouter. Nothing happened.

"This thing is broken!" She fidgeted with her scouter for a while, but it was unable to reach anyone. The power level detector was working fine however.

"Humph, I'll have to give it to Ami. Maybe she will be able to repair it."

"Or, maybe you should bring it to Malaka. He will give you another one." A voice told her from behind.

Startled, Minako jumped away. Turning around she saw two warriors, on man and one woman. She vaguely remembered them. The man was tall, muscular and handsome, the woman small, wiry and good looking.

"Do I know you?" She asked, still not remembering them.

The man smiled. "I'm Toma and she's Seripa. We are Bardock's squad mates. Remember the judges for the cooking match in the mess hall? Two months ago?"

Finally Minako recalled their looks. "Oh yes! You judged Makoto winner! Now I remember! Thanks again for that!" She smiled warmly at them, thinking how much Makoto was happy in that occasion.

The woman grinned at her. "No need to be grateful to us. Your friend deserved victory. Now, we were going to train and we happened to hear you speaking to yourself about your broken scouter. These damn things break easily; you should go to the armory and change it with a new one."

Minako could not remember how to reach the armory even at the cost of her life. Embarrassed she told them. "Sorry, my memory is not the best! I'm good at sports however!" She added still smiling.

"Sports? What are sports?" Asked Toma, looking at her.

Minako was surprised. "You don't have sports? Really? But you train constantly! I mean running, athletics, and competitive games?"

Seripa scratched her head perplexed. "Uh, this is basic training. Once your muscles are warmed up you either spar or practice alone. And sparring is a kind of competition. Is this what you meant?"

"Eeeh? Nothing? Really? Guys, how do you enjoy yourself?" The once-human girl asked disbelieving.

"Enjoy? Fighting obviously!" Replied Toma, then he patted Seripa on her butt! "Else… you know... that!" He smirked at her.

The woman replied by elbowing him in the guts, blushing red. "You big oaf! Say it again and I'll kill you!" But she was smiling openly.

Immediately Minako's love radar switched on. "You two are a couple! Are you not?" She asked them with little hearts in her eyes.

The two warriors smiled at one another, twisting their tails together. "Y-Yes. Since the last mission." Replied Toma timidly.

"Hey! Be more proud! It's not something to be ashamed of, you asshole!" Seripa scolded him.

Minako liked what she saw. Maybe there was still hope for these people. "Hey! You never played a game, did you? Do you want to try one? It's fun!"

The two warriors looked at her, then at themselves. Toma replied for the couple. "Why not? Tell us more."

Minako literally jumped at the occasion, and explained them the rules for Volleyball. After a while they started to raise objections.

"Umm, we don't have balls like you describe. And nets? Never heard of those. Anyway, why should I have to jump to stop the ball or to attack. I can fly!" Toma told her questioningly.

"Doh! You have a good point. Why not flying? Wait, I cannot fly, that's why not! It won't be fair!"

Seripa laughed at her. "You dummy, if you can't fly, we can teach you! It's really easy."

"Really? This would be great! Please, pretty please, pretty please with sugar on top!" Minako chirped happily.

"Uh, sugar? You speak oddly sometime, Minako. By the way, I've never heard a name like that, what did it means?" Asked her Toma.

This time was Minako's turn to be embarrassed. "It means… 'Beautiful child'… nothing important."

Seripa smiled at her. "It fits you. Now let's go to train. We will think about this 'barrageball' after you learn to fly."

Minako sweat dropped while following them. "It is 'volleyball', and has nothing to do with volleys!"

They walked up to an unused round platform. Once there Toma waved at Seripa. "I'll be practicing power attacks while you teach her to fly. Call me once you are finished."

The woman nodded at him, then crossed her arms over her chest. "OK Minako. Flying is easy. You have just to emit power from all of your body, instead of concentrating it on the hands. Unlike power attacks, the key is constant emission, not instant power."

The girl looked at her wide eyed. "Uh, wait" What do you mean by 'emit power'? I can't do that!"

Seripa sweat dropped. "What? You can't do that? But it is really easy! Even little children can do it! Look!" She raised her right hand in front of her, fingers clenched like squeezing on something invisible. A soft crackling sound warned Minako that something was to happen. A small light shone between her fingers, growing larger.

When the ball of light was large as an apple Seripa threw it against a large metal target on the wall. The ball detonated with a loud bang, leaving the target half destroyed! "Here's how it is done! Simple, isn't it?" She smirked at her.

Minako was amazed. "That was awesome! Let me try!" She raised her hands in front of her, while concentrating mightily all of herself in her hands. Nothing happened.

"Never give up!" She said straining with the effort. Yet still nothing happened at all!

"Uooooooh!" Minako yelled, red faced and trembling. Finally a small light shining gold appeared in her hands. Throwing it like a baseball player Minako aimed for the target.

The minuscule ball struck the target and detonated with a puny blast, barely scratching it.

"No way!" Minako pouted at the meager outcome of her efforts. "I'll show you, evil target!" She pointed her right index finger at it.

Seripa was about to start laughing when her scouter started beeping. "What the…?" Minako power level was well over three thousands and rising quickly!

"Take this!" The still indignant girl yelled while quick ray of light shot out of her extended finger, zapping the target and blasting it to pieces!

"Wow! That was a very good attack; quick and powerful! You almost had me with that act you put up earlier… You puffed and strained so much, very funny!" Seripa grinned, patting her on the back. "Now remember the feeling that attack gave you and cloak yourself with it. Feel it all about your body!"

Minako, still surprised by her own success tried nonetheless to follow Seripa's instructions. She envisioned a mantle of light all over her body. She replayed her attack in her mind, trying to feel it with all of her skin. She closed her eyes concentrating.

"It's not working Seripa!" She told her after a while.

"Really? Open your eyes, Minako!" She replied from below.

Minako opened her eyes, surprised. "Uh? Where are you?" She was suspended in mid-air, about ten feet above the floor! "I'm… flying! Yeah!"

Seripa waved at her. "Now to move, simply raise your power in the direction opposite to where you want to go! Remember to keep concentrating, or you will fall!"

After some tries, Minako got the hang of it. Ten minutes later she was happily skyrocketing in the training hall! "Uoooooooh! It's awesome! It's not a bird! It's not a plane! It's… Super-Mina! Yeah!"

Joining Seripa, Toma smiled at the girl flying about. "Look at her, she's a natural."

The woman grinned at him. "You should have looked at her power level. When she used that attack she was at four thousands!"

The man was stunned. "How it is possible? The scouter's readings show her power level at less than two thousands!"

Seripa shook her head. "I don't know. But training with her could be a good idea. I want to learn that technique. And I like her. What do you think?"

Toma, embracing her, kissed softly her lips. "Yes, I like her too. Let's ask her." He waved towards the flying girl.

Minako, still ecstatic by the experience hovered over them. "Flying is amazing. I will never walk again!"

"Oh? Even when going to the restroom of while eating? And sleeping?" Told her Seripa smiling. She was such a baby!

"Humph! What a damper! OK, I'll land!" Pretending to pout she finally touched ground.

In the meantime, in a nearby platform two warriors were sparring quite fiercely. One of them charged a power ball attack and threw it at the other. Dodging the power ball, the second warrior immediately knew it would hit the group of warriors near them! "Hey, look out!" He shouted at them.

Startled, Toma and Seripa looked at the incoming power ball. They moved trying to protect each other, instead managing to bump and lose balance!

Without thinking, Minako acted out of instinct. She jumped with her hand extended, catching the power ball with her trademark flying somersault reception!

Instinctively enshrouding her hands in the same energy she used to fly, the ball bounced off hitting another training target and obliterating it.

"Gotcha!" She yelled rolling on the floor and standing up in one fluid move. She turned toward Toma and Seripa beaming.

Toma looked at her disbelieving. "How did you do that?"

Minako smiled scratching her head. "Uh, it's a Volleyball move. I figured the power ball would not explode for a glancing hit, so I deflected it. I… uh… thought about using that power emission thing Seripa told me about flying to shield my hand. That's all."

Toma was impressed. "It's a good idea actually. Deflecting power attacks is possible but you usually sustain a certain amount of damage. You must be very skilled."

Still scratching her head, missing her old red bow, Minako thanked him. "I'm still good at it and… I've got an idea!"

"About what?" Asked her Seripa, admiring the young woman's lively attitude.

"About Volleyball! We can use power balls! They bounce well and can be thrown, like normal balls! Now I only need something for the net…"

"We can use a force field." Said Seripa thinking about it. "In this training hall, you can set them up to spice up some training fields or to screen observers from random damage."

"Wow! That's perfect! Now we must tweak the rules to allow flying…" Minako replied excitedly.

"Rules for what?" Asked the warrior who threw the power ball earlier. He was curious about the girl that deflected his attack so easily, so he overheard part of the conversation.

"Some new 'game' she was about to show us." Replied Toma.

"Sound interesting." Said the second warrior, the one who avoided the power ball. Dodging an attack was difficult. Learning to deflect one without damage could be useful.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~ Two hours later ~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Captain Maizen was walking calmly toward the Royal palace. He was invited to a formal dinner with the King and all the Generals of the Saiyan Army.

Being a relatively young organization, the army had only six ranks. Warriors and Elite Warriors were the grunts, the basic soldiers. Sergeant was not a real rank, rather a temporary appointment for a distinguished soldier. Lieutenants were usually called Squad Leaders and commanded from four to nine warriors. Captains had command over ten to twenty squads, collectively called a Company.

Generals had control over ten to twenty Companies, called a Wing. The King commanded all the Wings in the army.

Never a prolific race, the Saiyans were always fighting, and their number was low, no more than ten thousands individuals. All of them were warrior tough, so the Army could boast six full Wings and hence, six generals.

One of them, general Akashatsu, was killed in an ill-fated and badly staged assault on one of the moons of planet Meat. The Army lost more than a hundred warriors in what the King called "an idiotic mess".

Maizen and Nappa, both captains, were on the list for promotion as generals, and now there was a vacancy.

"Must not let that moronic guy become general… Must not let that moronic guy become general… Must not let that moronic guy become general!" This thought had become a mantra for captain Maizen. Repeating it in his mind to achieve total concentration, he planned to illustrate his own attack plan at the dinner.

Being in charge of the low class warrior training, he scheduled his walk to the castle through all the training halls he had to oversee. Until now, there was not a single problem. All was going well. His staff sergeant Nizuki had taken care of most of the petty complications that usually showed up at the last minute.

He was thinking of promoting her to Squad Leader the moment her power level exceeded four thousands. That new girl he recruited today volunteered to manage all the office work, so there was no need to keep Nizuki tied to a job she obviously hated. Unless she had other reasons for staying in his staff…

His train of thought was cut off short by a huge cheer coming from Training Room #3. Warriors usually trained in silence, except for power attack detonations and the random yell of pain. This time however there was a ruckus going on.

Fearing a brawl had broken out in the hall he quickly entered the building ready for action. He was confused finding nothing bad going on! Instead, a huge crowd was cheering for two squads of warriors in flight over a training platform, bouncing a power ball between them over a randomly moving force screen dividing the field in two!

After a particularly fierce exchange, a young woman hit the ball shouting; "Spike!" Sending it near the edge of the opposing side's field. The ball slipped out the hands of the receiving warrior hitting the floor and exploding with a loud bang! One other warrior standing out of the field shouted. "Rally! Set! Match! The winner is… Mina's Squad!"

A huge cheer shook the building, while the winning squad took hold of the young woman, tossing her into the air shouting merrily.

Wading through the excited crowd, Maizen finally made his way to the field. "What's happening here?" He asked with a commanding voice to no one in particular.

Many warriors heard his question, swamping him with confused explanations about some "Powerball", "game", "serve", "spikes" and other vague topics. They were having a good time, it was clear.

Perplexed, the captain reached the winning squad, identifying two warriors. "Toma! Seripa! What are you doing?"

Smiling, the two warriors lowered on the floor the young woman they were happily bouncing up and down. "We were playing a game, sir!" "A new type of training, sir!" They replied at the same time.

"Are you really sure of knowing what you were doing?" He asked ironically.

"I beg your pardon, sir!" Told him the girls. He identified her as one of the Galangal tribe survivors who attacked planet Babke.

"Are you… Minako?" He asked; his memory trained to remember the name of any warrior he met even once.

"Yes sir! We were training aerial squad tactics and power ball attack and defense with a game! To enhance competition, sir! It's called Powerball, sir!" Minako devised the new name and rules to adapt the original Volleyball ones to the Saiyan's needs and abilities. And the result was a blast! The warriors learned fast and were tough players. They had a lot of fun.

The captain was skeptical. "Tell me more." He asked simply.

Minako gulped. The fate of sport gaming in the world was hanging on her words! A reassuring nod by Seripa gave her the courage to face the intimidating officer. The fact he had the same face and voice of Usagi's boyfriend was even more reassuring. She started to explain the rules of the game and the benefits of pursuing it.

She described the technique of bouncing back power attacks without damage, of cooperation between squad members in confusing situations, in flight! The randomly changing force field was there to simulate ever changing landscape situations.

Having finished her explanation Minako checked her nose, fearing it to grow ten meters long after all the fabrications she told Maizen. She actually only wanted Saiyans to have fun in situations not including death and mayhem.

Looking at his face with huge sparkling eyes, she unknowingly jumped a little in nervous anticipation. "Uh! I would like to know what he is thinking now!" She thought.

Sighing softly, Maizen grinned to the crowd. "This seems to me a good way to train. You have my permission to stage other 'games' like this one." Another huge cheer rocked the building.

Looking in the young woman eyes Maizen continued. "But I'll hold you responsible for any incidents that may happen during these new training exercises. Tomorrow morning you'll have to report to my office for the necessary authorizations. Dismissed!" He walked away, chuckling at the thought of her surprised face.

Minako bowed to the officer, grateful for his approval. After he left the building, many warriors approached her, asking for some explanations about the rules. Minako replied to the best of her abilities, still unsure of the rule changes she made on the fly.

After a while, three new games had been started. The natural competitive streak of the Saiyans, coupled with team pride and the sheer fun of it prompted them to play very aggressively.

"I'm so glad you all like it. It was my favorite sport!" She told Toma and Seripa. Glad for their help in setting up the first game.

"It was fun. I'll tell Bardock about it." Replied Toma, smiling.

"It's almost evening. We have to go to Bardock's quarters." Told them Seripa. "If you want, tomorrow we could train together." She asked Minako.

The young woman could not be happier. But the thought of her friends doused her eagerness. "It would be great. However I must talk to my friends first. Where will I find you if I'm free?"

"We will be here. It is our favorite training hall. Just search for us in the morning, after breakfast." Replied Seripa.

"If possible, I will!" Chirped Minako. "Bye!" She waved at them, while they soared out of the building.

"They were very nice to me." Thinking about the two warriors, she could not shrug off the image of them killing thousands of defenseless people. "Maybe they will change minds, competing in games rather than killing in wars. Who knows…?"

A strong hit in the back pushed her off balance and on the floor. "Ouch!" she yelped hitting the ground hard.

Rolling on her side she dodged a stomp that would have probably crushed her neck! A big warrior with a frothing mouth was attacking her, one of the losing squad members from the earlier game!

"Arrrhhh! I… Killh youh!" He growled angrily, his eyes bloodshot! He tried to stomp her again, but she tumbled back, standing up in an instant.

"Rentiro! Stop that!" A woman's shout distracted the mad warrior from attacking again. Minako took flight to evade an eventual new attack.

The woman ran near the mad warrior trying to calm him down. "Why are you attacking her? We lost the game, but it was a fair battle!"

The man eyed her for a moment, and then he backhanded her with a mighty swipe of his arm! Taken by surprise the woman crashed on the floor, stunned. The man looked for Minako and, after finding her, charged a huge power attack!

"B-bounceh thish, grrraaarrrhhh!" He yelled throwing the big energy ball at her.

Knowing it was impossible to deflect such a huge attack, she thought of dodging. But it was too fast, there was no time! This left her only one option!

Summoning all of her strength she focused her power in two bright crescent moons, having them collide above her head. She quickly raised her right index finger up to touch them. The energy entered it, concentrating in a single point. She lowered her arm to aim at the incoming power ball. As her left arm came to rest on her right elbow, she shouted with all her might! _**"Crescent… Beam!"**_

All the light in the training hall seemed to focus in a searing golden beam of light, firing from her index finger down to the power ball! The two attacks struggled for a moment, and then the beam pierced through the ball, making it explode with a mighty blast!

The beam continued its run hitting the furious warrior full in the chest, blowing up his armor and pushing him back and down on the ground! At the same time, some of the oldest scouters in the hall exploded, Minako's rapid rise in power having exceeded their circuit tolerance.

Many warriors were astounded by the attack! "Look at the girl's power level! It changed from two thousand to over nine thousands in an instant!" Yelled one. "What? Over nine thousands? It's impossible!" Replied another one.

The stunned woman, having recovered, rushed to her mate. "He's not dead! Rentiro! Answer me! Rentiro!"

A fish-looking technician assigned to first aid duty ran to them and used a medpac on the unconscious warrior. "His wound is not so dangerous. The energy of the attack was mostly deflected by the power ball blast." He told to the woman.

Minako landed near them. "I'm sorry for hitting him, but why did he attack me?" She asked the woman.

She replied while looking at her man. "He was strange all morning. Very irritable. Losing the game made him snap!" She replied.

"There's something strange." Interrupted the technician. "His life signs are dropping! This has nothing to do with the wound! I don't understand!" He worked feverishly to help the wounded warrior, but after a minute of struggle he died!

"No! Why! You can't die just for a little wound! You asshole! Get up! Don't leave me!" The woman cried, hugging the body of her dead mate!

Minako was horrified! "I… I k-killed him!" She stammered falling down shocked.

"No." Replied dryly the tech still trying to figure out the situation. "He died of a massive neural breakdown. Your attack made little difference. He would have died all the same in a few minutes. His brain is almost fried! I can't believe it… I've never seen something similar." He shook his head.

"Then, why?" Minako asked still not understanding.

"Don't know. Probably some sort of poisoning. I must take him to the medical center for analysis." He added, standing up. He waved at two random warriors. "Pick him up and follow me. We have to give his body to Planthorr for an autopsy."

The crying woman shouted at them. "No! I will bring him there! No one will touch him but me!" She pulled the body of her mate on her shoulders, her lithe frame now displaying the real strength of a Saiyan woman.

Minako tried to follow them, but the woman growled at her. "Don't. I know it is not your fault, but leave me be!"

Stopping in her track, all her happiness for the game drowned by a senseless death, Minako slumped against a wall, tears running down her cheeks. "Again death. This must be hell…"

Walking away she wandered the halls of the fortress for what seemed hours. By chance she found herself in the armory. Remembering her broken scouter and wanting to hear about her friends, she called for the technician.

"Malaka? Are you here?" After a while the reptilian alien showed up from the shadows, startling her.

"What do you want?" He asked her.

"M-my scouter is broken, you see, I cannot call anyone and…"

He snatched the scouter from her hands, inspecting it. "It is not broken. You have activated the call block." He said dryly. "This is the button to hit to activate/deactivate the function." He gave her back the device.

Feeling immensely stupid, Minako retrieved the item, wearing it. "Hem, sorry… I'm not great with these things…"

"No blathering. I have a job to do." The tech hissed to her.

Momentarily forgetting her sadness, Minako walked away annoyed at the alien's lack of manners. "Freaking lizard!" She mumbled while calling Usagi.

"Usagi? I'm Minako!" She said calling her.

"Minako! I was so worried! Thank god! Are you safe?" Her friend replied.

"Sorry for not calling you but I had a minor problem with the scouter and…"Minako tried to tell her. She was cut short however.

"Wait! I have something important to tell you! Rei is in trouble! She has challenged that Nappa guy to a duel to the death! He will kill her!" Usagi's voice echoed from the scouter.

"Whaaaat?" Minako face palmed. What a day!


	12. Chapter 12: Ami

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

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**Author's notes: **I really appreciated all the reviews! Feel free to comment!**  
**

Crispywheat: Thanks!

Jewlbunny: You are very perceptive. I like to leave small seeds in previous chapters that bloom later. Try to catch them all XD.

Crystal: OK, the side notes are here! Look after the chapter.

AnonymousZGirl: You were right! And now for Usagi's chapter...

Whiteling: You will know shortly. XD

sunshinekc: I like adding twists, and this fic is really five stories in one. Expect the unexpected!

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**Chapter 12, Ami**

Walking slowly, the distraught girl wandered through the meandering halls of the Saiyan fortress city. She was starving, her stomach grumbling loudly, yet the mere thought of eating something, anything, never crossed her mind!

She had previously recorded Tarble's power signature, so she had no problems tracking him to the Tsufuru Science Center. Getting there was the real problem. The halls seemed to follow no logical pattern in their sequence. However she kept mental notice of all her movements. She estimated her time of arrival in no more than twenty minutes.

Exactly twenty minutes later she found herself in front of a huge towering complex. Evidently damaged, the building was still impressive. The grand staircase was comparatively small, probably intended for the smallish Tsufurus.

Easily climbing the stairs, Ami reached the entrance. Alien characters were carved into the stone lintel. They read as "Plantian Academy of Science".

Entering the building, the young woman marveled at the beautiful architecture. The alien structure was impressive and elegant. High columns supported a vaulted roof, light shining from concealed recesses in the column tops. Broken glass and pulverized stone crunched under her boots. The main hall was a mess. Destroyed stands and counters were separated by small mounds of dirt and rubble. Small tombstones marked the mounds. It was a graveyard!

A calm voice startled her. "The researchers were all dead. I buried them. It was the least I could do."

"Tarble!" Ami yelped, surprised by his sudden appearance. "I'm sorry! I should have called you…"

"Don't worry. I was hoping for your visit." He smiled at her, opening wide his arms. "Welcome to the Science Center! My home, workplace and place of exile!"

Still smiling he invited her towards a wide hall, going deep in the building. "Let me show you something."

Ami nodded at him, blushing. She followed the strange Saiyan into the bowels of the structure. Avoiding great hunks of twisted metal, burned wood furniture and fused plastic mounds, they made their way into the long hall, finally reaching a metal door, broken and fused in place.

"We have to squeeze here." He told her pointing at a small opening in the metal of the door. "I dare not to blast a larger opening. Many power cables and data streams pass under this door. Using too much power could destroy the archives." He squeezed his minute frame through the opening.

Being of small stature herself, Ami managed to follow him just barely. Entering a small tunnel dug in stone and gravel she stopped, Tarble's face looking at her out of the end of the passage. "Please, close your eyes; I want this to be a surprise." He told her chuckling.

"O-OK!" She replied moving forward. He helped her out of the tunnel and into the room. "You can look now!" He told her, smiling in anticipation.

Opening her eyes, Ami gasped at the sight!

She was in a tall tower, the roof lost in darkness. The only light was coming from hundreds of computer screens, all showing some sort of data. Images of stars, animals, alien landscapes, mathematical formulas, chemical models, program flowcharts, 3D schematics and diagrams of buildings, devices and more!

There was no stairs, as the floor gently sloped upwards in a single slowly spiraling hall, up to the tower roof. The walls were packed full of science stations, experimental devices, data storage and laboratory doors. Each door was clearly labeled with the research stored within. "Gravitation control lab", "Unification theory debate room", "Warp engines development testing", "Energy wave dampers prototype" and so on.

Ami was amazed. "The tower is a mile high, and each floor is no more than seventy feet tall so there are…" she started to say.

"Exactly eighty four floors and three hundreds thirty six labs!" Tarble informed her. "All of them packed full of tech. Tsufurus loved science so they amassed all their knowledge here. This place is more a museum of sorts than a cutting edge lab however. Nonetheless it is fascinating. All their history, culture and discoveries survive here. It is my reason of living, to preserve all of this."

The young woman momentarily forgot all of her plights. "Oh Tarble! This place is wonderful! Can I… study here?" She asked him, her eyes sparkling at the thought of all the knowledge stored in this tower, unheard of in her universe.

The young Saiyan relished the look of joy in Ami's eyes. "I made her happy. This is a first in my life!" He thought, his heart swelling in delight, many years of loneliness and despair melting away in the brief moment of a woman's smile.

Remembering her question, Tarble nodded. "Sure! You can come here anytime you want. You may want to fly to this balcony however. It's faster than crawling through the tunnel." He pointed at an open balcony at the tenth level of the tower.

"Hem, I cannot fly, I'm sorry!" She replied blushing.

He looked at her curiously. "You can't fly? Are you aero phobic? Underdeveloped power nodes? Wavering flight syndrome?" He asked her, a look of concern on his face.

Ami blushed red. "N-no… I simply don't know how to…" She hated to sound lacking, but the first step towards enlightenment was admitting ignorance.

Tarble sighed out of relief. "Oh, that's not a problem then. Learning to fly is pretty easy. Don't worry, you will find a good teacher in any one of the training halls. There are many of those."

Ami was thinking otherwise. "Maybe, you could… teach me?" She asked hoping to avoid the need of finding a teacher. In her mind played the horrible image of Nizuki with Nappa's head, ordering her to zenkai while squashing her on the floor! She gulped nervously.

Tarble's reaction was strange. The young man blushed intensely, staggering slightly. "Y-you want m-me to t-train y-you?" He stammered. Was she really asking him for a date? For him, this was a dream come true!

"If this bothers you I'll find another teacher, I'm sorry! You must be very busy!" She replied whispering, embarrassed.

"Oh, I must have insulted him!" She thought. "A complete stranger, a normal girl like me, asking him to train her. He's a prince…" Sighing she started to apologize again, when Tarble interrupted her, seizing the opportunity before the woman changed her mind.

"Yes! I'll train you, in everything you can possibly want to be trained in! My father instructed me in all the basic skill of a Saiyan warrior. I may be weak for an elite, but I know the theory and… I mean… I studied 23% of the entire Tsufuru database and I can aid you in finding interesting topics and… and… I know 23% isn't much of it but…"

While speaking he become redder and redder, until Ami thought he was going to melt! "Thanks, you are very nice!" She told him trying not to look in his eyes. Why he was blushing? The entire situation was becoming awkward, when her belly growled loudly!

The sound startled Tarble. He looked at her, while the noises become louder. "Now I can die!" Thought Ami, while covering in shame her face with her hands.

A hearty laugh surprised her. Tarble patted her on the shoulder. "You are making me hungry! I have a huge stasis pod filled with food from the castle's kitchens. Let's eat a snack!"

Ami followed him to a huge device. A ten feet tall cylinder with a computer station on one side and a hatch on the other. Tarble punched some commands on the computer and the hatch opened. Inside there were three huge plastic boxes. Taking one, Tarble closed the hatch, leaving the other two boxes in the device.

Opening the box, a delicious smell filled the room. Dozens of bento-like small trays were stacked in the box; all filled with food. By the smell it was of good quality, not the mess-hall junk Makoto hated so much.

Tarble pointed at the box. "Please, eat your fill! You can take the trays to eat while you work at a research station if you like. I do it all the time!"

Ami liked the idea. Tarble was so very similar to her. However the smell of the food churned her stomach, making her taste bile in her mouth. "I cannot. Sorry". Struggling not to cry she ran away.

She knew Tarble would not understand her. He would be probably felt insulted. But Ed's face haunted her. A face of terror and fear and sadness. The last face of his life, only a moment before she, Ami, consumed him! She stopped running, leaning on a wall, throwing up again. She had only bile in her stomach now, but the feeling of uncleanliness, of defilement, was still there.

"What's the problem? Was the food not of your taste? Are you sick? Please, speak to me!" Tarble had followed her. He was worried.

"You can't throw up without replenishing liquids, you will dehydrate! Please, at least drink some water!" He handed her a bottle full of cool and clear water. Grateful she accepted it, gulping down the soothing liquid in moments.

"Oh I needed this, thanks Tarble. I'm so sorry!" She apologized to him.

"Are you sick?" He asked again. He was truly concerned for her.

"In a way… I can tell you why, if you really want." She looked at him, asking for help with her eyes if not with her words.

Helping her to a nearby small chair, Tarble nodded her to go on, handing her another bottle.

Sighing Ami took it, this time slowly sipping the cool water. "It all started when we were forced to abandon our home and following the signals of this old scouter we reached this city…"

She told him the whole story… Except being a reincarnated alien warrior-princess from another universe obviously! He listened to her tale with great attention and interest. When she finally told him about Ed's demise he paled visibly.

Ami gasped in sobs, covering her face with her hands. She knew Tarble would be horrified by what she had done! She started to stand, to run away in shame, but his hands stopped her, firmly placed on her shoulders.

"Ami… you had no choice. You had never been trained to control the Oozaru state. It's not your fault. You would have never known about it if you had not activated your scouter's registration mode! Please, you must eat something or you will die!" Tarble's voice was full of apprehension.

"What do you mean? A human body can go for a full month with water only…" She started to say, but he interrupted her.

"I don't know what a human is, but a Saiyan's metabolism starts to eat reserve tissue after the third day without food. After a week you will be unable to move and in ten days you will be dead. All the while your strength and coordination will worsen until you will lose consciousness, by the eighth day! How many days of food have you skipped?" He asked her very seriously.

Ami shuddered at the gruesome account of a Saiyan's way of dying by starvation. "I remember for sure two full days, and I was in stasis for two full weeks. Cannot say anything about when I was an Oozaru." She replied meekly.

"Each day of stasis is roughly equivalent to 12 minutes of real time, 14 days is more or less three hours. Not a problem, don't worry about it. You are not in danger but having a real meal should be your priority!"

"I cannot! The thought of eating something formerly alive… I cannot!" She shook her head.

"Ami… We are a mostly carnivorous race. We can eat anything, but to sustain our supercharged metabolism we have to consume protein rich food! Vegetables are good but you cannot go without meat!" He tried to reason with her, gently shaking her shoulders.

"N-no! I don't want! No meat!" She cried trembling. "I know it's stupid, but I cannot!"

Tarble sighed, nodding at her.

"He understands!" Ami thought. "My friends didn't but he did!" she smiled weakly.

"Maybe I can do something for you." Tarble stood up thoughtful. "Wait for me, I must check a lab." He walked away.

Sighing Ami tried to compose herself. Having such a breakdown was unusual for her, but the exceptional stress of the last weeks had weakened her will, and fasting had not helped at all. Yet, she was proud of having never hurt innocents. Now her pride was broken. It was a fragile illusion, good while it lasted. Her hands were bloodied now…

Her train of thought was mercifully broken by Tarble's return. He was carrying a huge device in his hands. Putting it down before her, he smiled. "Done! Try this, Ami!"

The young woman looked at the bizarre contraption. It resembled a small appliance fused to some sort of high tech device, maybe a fusion reactor? It had a small computer keyboard and monitor attached. Studying it she readily recognized its function. "It's a food synthesizer! You insert unliving matter here and it breaks it down and reassembles it into edible food! It's amazing!"

Tarble coughed. "Err… Yes it is. But it only produces unappetizing gray slabs of cardboard-like gunk. Awful tasting and smelling. Very nourishing though. I tried that for three months and I had no negative reactions." He failed to mention her the horrible nightmares about killing and eating everything else beside the hated gray slabs he suffered in the last month. This was not the time for punctiliousness.

She was very curious, a device like that could solve the malnutrition problem on earth! "Let's try it!" She said, turning the machine on and throwing stones and water in the input funnel.

Humming and shaking the device worked his magic in less than a minute, producing a grey tablet, book sized, of a bread-like material. It smelled of chemicals and ozone. Ami chewed it.

It tasted worse! Like wet cardboard with a sour aftertaste. She forced herself to properly masticate and swallow the mouthful. However her hunger was great and her stomach needed food. Any food. She devoured the slab, activating the machine to get another.

Tarble looked at the girl stoically eating slab after slab of the awful material in horrid fascination. He never managed to eat more than five, even when very hungry, but Ami accomplished in gulping down seven full tablets!

She looked wearily at the eighth slab and commented; "This one we can use to fix the device. One of its supports is slightly shorter than the others, causing it to wobble. I think this stuff could be easily used as a cheap brick too…"

They both laughed.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

A short time later Ami was standing in the large plaza, outside the Science Center Complex. She was wearing some strange hi-tech goggles. A thick power cable was running from the goggles to a portable generator, near Tarble. The Saiyan sage had a remote controller in hand.

"Now Ami, I'm going to turn on the goggles. They will flash your eyes with a Blutz wave of the necessary amplitude. You should try to follow the red light however. Remember, follow the red light! If you can't, the Blutz wave will stop and the transformation will reverse." Tarble had explained her the device. Built by Tsufuru scientists over thirty years ago, it was designed to help baby Saiyans in mastering the Oozaru state without damaging the countryside. No Saiyan clan chieftain ever accepted to use the contraption however, as reported by the Tsufuru archive.

She nodded nervously, having accepted this training method as the least dangerous for life and property. Tarble told her untrained Saiyans were unable to divert their stare from the full moon once the transformation started, unless in full control. The device capitalized on this principle, with a fixed Blutz lamp and a small red light randomly moving inside the goggles.

After following the red light with her stare for long minutes that seemed like hours, she had to ask. "Tarble, it's not working! Nothing happened."

"Don't worry Ami. You failed only a little over two hundred times. Just follow the light." He replied smiling.

"T-two hundred? It is possible?" She was bewildered.

"Yes. You lose consciousness during transformation and regain it when it stops. It's normal. Stay focused."

Trying to concentrate, the young woman poured all of her will into following the red light. It was hard. It had the habit of instantly move away, making her lose track of it. "When I lose it, it is probably the moment I start to change. I must focus more, more, more…"

The world started to change around her, growing smaller. Tarble shrank down to doll size! She looked at her arms; they were hairy and so big! Bringing her hands to her mouth she found a muzzle and fangs! She was an Oozaru!

"TARBLE! I MASTERED IT! I MASTERED IT! I'M SO HAPPY! I WILL NEVER HURT ANYONE IN THIS FORM!" She jumped up and down, crashing the pavement and disconnecting the power cord. The transformation immediately reverted, leaving her amidst the rubble.

Helping her out of the wreckage, Tarble smiled. "I'm so glad for you, Ami! Now to learn flight…"

She smiled back at him, slightly blushing. "Yes, Sensei!"

"I have to infer Sensei means 'teacher' in your clan's dialect. Very well, I like it. Tarble Sensei. It sounds right!" He replied laughing.

Ami liked his laugh. It was never haughty or cruel, only cheerful. He was smart, wise and caring. And strong! He told her his strength was feeble, and by Elite standards it was. His power level was 'only' 2500. Two times stronger than her. He could fly and shoot bolts of power! On earth he would be a real superman. She sighed. Too bad she'll have to leave him here.

"Tell me, oh Tarble Sensei, how can one unworthy girl learn to fly?" She teased him.

"It is simply a matter of mastering your body natural power! Now, hear me out…"

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Two hours later they were slowly soaring in the sky over the Science Center. Ami managed to levitate in less than five minutes, but precise control was still beyond her. "Try to read the air currents! At your level you still cannot ignore them. When you have more skill you will be able to rocket at full power. For now remember to take it slow."

"Yes Sensei!" She replied while gracefully moving in the sky like a fish in the sea. To Tarble's eyes, she seemed to swim in the air rather than flying. "She's beautiful!" He thought following her. Finally they landed in front of the tower.

"Thanks Tarble! It was incredible. I'm so grateful…"

He stopped her. "The one thanking should be me. If I can help you, please tell me!"

She looked at the ground, his eagerness making her blush. "I will not take advantage of your generosity."

"Please… I'm a bit lonely here. If you want to study the archives, I won't distract you." He replied, a hint of sadness and longing in his voice.

"Well, if you insist…" She smiled at him, their eyes locking for an instant. They averted their gaze, embarrassed.

They walked inside, in awkward silence. Finding a computer station near one of the windows she sat on the small chair. For her, it was a stool at best.

"I can bring you a larger chair, or I can build one…" Started Tarble, eager to please her.

"Don't. I can seat on the floor. Maybe you can give me a mat or something similar?" She asked.

"Right away!" He vanished in an instant, returning after less than a minute with a soft plastic sponge slab.

Politely thanking him, Ami sat cross legged on the mat, trying out the alien computer system.

"I will be on my station, if you need something!" Tarble told her, reluctantly walking away.

She sighed in reply, ignoring him on purpose. She hated to be cold to him. Tarble was a fine young man and she liked him a lot, maybe too much. Yet, they would have to return to their universe. No, it was better to not deepen their fledgling bond. From now on she would have to control herself. No more blushing or dreamy smiles and such things.

She sighed again thinking. "He is an alien prince, and he likes me. Just like in the romance novels I use to read when I'm alone. He helped me and now I must be mad to push him away! We can just be friends, can't we?"

Concentrating on the computer she studied the alien operating system. After a while she was happily browsing the huge data library of the Tsufuru archives. The topics she was interested in were two. First of all, she had to build the wormhole stabilizer. Her friends thought her capable of any scientific feat, but she knew her knowledge of the matter was incomplete. Without her mercury computer, she was severely limited. Fortunately the Tsufuru researched wormholes in their drive to build viable faster-than-light star ships. Lab forty-two was devoted to the study of wormholes and alternate dimensions. A negative mass matter stream projector prototype was built but never tested. This was a real stroke of luck!

On the other hand, surviving in this new dimension was of primary importance, so she searched also for information about the planet, the galaxy and the Saiyan race. When looking at the star chart for the system, she was very surprised! Despite her decision about Tarble, she had to speak with him.

The young prince was half-heartedly reading through an old anthropological paper about the ancient Plantians, the fabled progenitor race of the Tsufurus and according to some sages the Saiyans. He was really thinking about Ami though, so he had to re-read a chapter more than once. When the young woman called him he jumped out of his chair.

"How can I help you?" He promptly asked.

"I found some interesting files in the archives. Please Tarble, can you confirm this one?" She accessed the file on his station.

The forsaken prince looked at the document on his screen. "It's an astronomical essay on this star system. It's pretty accurate, why you ask?"

Ami was afraid to ask, but she had to. "Please, can you explain me the origin of the names of the celestial bodies of this system?"

Tarble scratched his head. "I think they come from a very old legend. According to the archives, both the Saiyans and the Tsufuru have their version, almost identical to each another. There's a file on it. I can find it for you."

The young woman shook her head. "Maybe I'm asking too much of you, but please, can you tell me about it? It will be quicker…" She told him, but she was actually scared.

"I know only the Saiyan's version… Oh well, it's an old tale that was narrated by night, when our ancestors lived in the great forests of the north continent, before the time of the reservations. As many of our legends it begins with a duel…"

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~ The legend of the three lovers ~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

_"Once upon a time there was a clan in the northern forest. It was a small clan, but its hunters were the strongest, the fastest and the toughest of all the other clans."_

_"One of the hunters was in love with the chieftain's Daughter. But he was born from the weakest members of the clan, and his status was too low to ask her hand. He could win her in a duel however. So the Hunter trained, and trained and trained more, until he was the strongest hunter in the tribe."_

_"However the Chieftain wanted to marry his daughter to the chieftain of a southern clan, to forge an alliance and see his nephews rule over a larger, stronger clan. The Southern chieftain was a warrior, a strong one, experienced and cunning. He survived many battles, for the southern clans were often at war with each other."_

_"So when the Hunter asked the hand of the chieftain's Daughter, he was forced to challenge the Southern chieftain. The duel was long and difficult, but in the end the Southern chieftain won. He spared the Hunter though, as he had never seen a man so fast and powerful. It would be a shame to kill him in a stupid duel. Better to test his strength as a warrior, in a real battle."_

_"The Hunter had no choice, he lost. He wowed to serve the Southern chieftain in exchange for his life. This way he could follow his beloved in the south. Chieftain's Daughter loved the hunter as well but she knew her duty to the clan, so she married the Southern chieftain."_

_"The three of them returned to the south, braving the dangers of the journey and despite all, the Hunter and the Southern chieftain became friends. Chieftain's Daughter was happy to see this, and she grew to love her husband. The three of them sparred with each other and hunted together, and became inseparable."_

_"Fighting in may wars, the Hunter's strength grew, until he was stronger than the Southern chieftain. Yet, they were friends now and he never challenged him again for the love of chieftain's Daughter."_

_"One day however the enemy struck at the encampment while the Hunter and most of the warriors were away. They killed many, but many others were saved thanks to the Southern chieftain's strength. He fought bravely, his valiant bride at his side. Then the Enemy struck him from behind, almost killing him. He took chieftain's Daughter as a prisoner and fled, leaving him for dead."_

_"When the Hunter returned he found his friend dying and his love kidnapped. The Southern chieftain told him of the attack, and then died. Mourning him, the Hunter wowed to kill all the enemies and to save his love."_

_"He followed easily the enemies, tracking them by smell. Then he attacked with his skill, killing them one at a time. But when he fought against their chief, he was defeated. The Enemy was smart, and poisoned his nails. He killed the Hunter and took away chieftain's daughter."_

_"She mourned the loss of her friend and her mate in the same day! Her strength, while great, was not up to the task and she could not free herself from the Enemy. So by the night she asked the Moon for a sign. Something to avenge herself and her loved ones, for the Moon was the spirit of peace and justice."_

_"The Moon was fond of the Saiyans and she granted them power every a hundred years to survive the harsh long winters, when the small sun was sleeping. The Enemy however was a dishonorable warrior, winning his battles against weaker opponents or using tricks. Such a shame could not be tolerated. Crying for the chieftain's Daughter, the Hunter and the Southern chieftain, the good and peaceful Moon shed a single tear."_

_"Becoming Crystal in the cold air above the world, the tear was like a little moon, shining upon the Hunter's broken body. Moon's daughter was endowed with knowledge and life, and she shared it with the Hunter. Her light gave him a new life!"_

_"Emerging from his cold grave he thanked Crystal and Moon for their help. 'Be warned Hunter!' Moon told him. 'The Enemy's power is greater too, under Crystal's light. You have to get stronger by your power, not mine, if you want to win and save your love.'"_

_"The Hunter nodded, thinking of a way to best the Enemy in brains, when brawns had failed. He thought of asking power to someone different. Someone the Enemy would never think of. So the Hunter climbed the highest mountain of the southern lands, to speak to the red sun, Flame!"_

_"Flame was a great spirit, passionate but wise. The Hunter told her his tale. However she replied negatively. 'I'm sorry, brave Hunter. My power is great but it burns everything. With it you would kill your loved one together with the Enemy.' The Hunter thanked her, and then he asked for advice. 'Try asking to my daughter, Thunder. She is strong and powerful. She might aid you.'"_

_"Following the advice, the Hunter searched for the tallest tree in the plains. For Thunder was said to love striking them. Finally he found her, the green orb in the sky, the spirit of truth and courage. Asking for her help, she told him; 'How you dare to beg me for power! I might share it with you, but then your victory would be mine! You have to find the power within yourself!' She scolded him!"_

_"Ashamed, the Hunter wandered away, thinking how to win back his love. He could challenge the Enemy again, but he was sure he had new tricks under his pelts. And this time Crystal could not revive him. He had only one chance. Sitting on a stone, he thought hard and for a long time. Then, at the end of the long winter, the small sun finally dawned! Like a rain of gold, her rays bathed the land in shining light. Her name was Gold, the spirit of joy and love!"_

_"Looking at her, returning spring to the land after the long winter, the Hunter made up his mind. No tricks, no deceits, nothing would stop him from saving his love. He marched to the Enemy's lair and openly challenged him. 'You coward! Fight me without tricks! Show to your men your real power! Are you afraid of me?' And the Enemy came. He had to fight straight or his man would betray him. No weakness was tolerated."_

_"'You challenge me for this one woman?' He replied to the Hunter. 'Then how well you will fight me, if she is dead?' And he killed her! The Hunter saw her falling down, her black hair upon the cold snowy ground. Great rage swelled in his heart! He, always calm and collected, burned with anger and regret! Bellowing his challenge he charged the hated Enemy and all of his men."_

_"They fought for hours, the Hunter slowly winning. Gold's rays shone in his hairs, making them golden in color. His eyes became blue-green, like Crystal is. His power was unstoppable, and he won. He killed all the Enemy's men and then the Enemy too."_

_"But his victory was hollow. She was dead. His friend was dead. And he lived for nothing. A Saiyan warrior never cries, but he howled at the moon all of his sorrow. And the Moon cried for him, for his lost loved ones. Her rays touched him, together with Crystal's and Flame's and Thunder's and Gold's. They all mourned with him."_

_"Bringing together all of their lights, they changed him into a star. And the same they did for the chieftain's Daughter and the Southern chieftain. They called them at their side, brightening the night sky, finally together for all eternity. And the same they did for all the strong and proud warriors, man and woman, who died defending their loved ones, from then until now."_

_"Looking at the night's sky, between the Moon and his daughter Crystal, one can still see three stars shining, the three lovers, still together."_

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Coughing to hint at the legend's ending, Tarble smiled at Ami.

"This is so beautiful and sad." Ami said with shining eyes. Impulsively, she kissed him innocently on a cheek. He blushed deeply, babbling incoherently about other legends or something similar.

She was distracted however. Thinking about the legend she was worried. "Five planetary bodies other than planet Vegeta. Moon, Crystal, Flame, Thunder and Gold… Peace and Justice, Life and Knowledge, Passion and Wisdom, Truth and Courage, Joy and Love. This is very suspicious. I have to speak to Jean-san… Could be… entanglement? To this scale?" She nervously walked on the large balcony, looking at the red sun… Flame. Up in the sky, her eyes found the small blue-green moon, Crystal. She was enraptured by her light… so beautiful…

Her thoughts were stopped by the scouter's beeping. She activated the device quickly. Usagi's voice buzzed from the speakers.

"Ami! Finally! I called you a lot of times! Why no one ever answer my calls?" Her friend was clearly concerned for her well-being.

"Usagi, I'm OK. Don't worry. The Science Center walls are shielded for preserving sensible data from EM emissions. I'm out now and I was going to return to our quarters after a quick dinner. I learned to fly and I can be back in five minutes."

"This is great, Ami. But I must tell you something important! Rei has challenged captain Nappa to a death duel! Tomorrow morning they will fight! We must help her, or he will kill her!"

Ami looked at Tarble with disbelieving eyes. He paled immediately, knowing the strength and cruelty of that particular warrior.

"I'll be back in a minute!" She replied to her friend, quickly taking flight. Tarble followed her.

* * *

**Ami's Scouter Data.**

_- Recording. Planet Vegeta. Day 70._

"Starting today, I'm going to feed my scientific scouter with data taken from the Tsufuru Archives. I will begin with the star charts for this star system. This data bothers me, I must ask Tarble about it."

_**- File 7589125.P001 - **Flame/Gold Star system data analysis._

_**Binary system** (ex Triple system)_

_**Main star**: Flame. **Type**: Red super giant. **Mass**: 10 G. **Spectral class**: M. **Mean temperature**: 4500 K. **Orbiting planets**: Thunder_

_**Secondary star**: Gold. **Type**: Yellow far companion. **Mass**: 1 G. **Spectral class**: G. **Mean temperature**: 5500 K. **Orbiting planets**: Plant_

_**Tertiary star**: Seed (Destroyed). **Type**: Unknown, Very far companion gone nova 2 billion years ago. **Mass**: Unknown. **Spectral class**: Unknown. **Mean temperature**: Unknown. **Orbiting planets**: Unknown. **- Note**: Seed remnants were classified as Neutron Star fragments. One of them was captured by Gold gravitational pull and became the nucleus of planet Plant. The other fared the same fate but was captured by Flame and became planet Thunder. Without the death of Seed, our system would have no planets._

_**Planet name**: Thunder. **Type**: Gas giant. **Mass**: 317 P. **Orbiting moons**: 42 small satellites. **Orbital period**: 2.18 Plant years. **Conditions**: Uninhabitable. **- Note**: Planet Thunder atmosphere is shaken by continuous storms of enormous magnitude. Her EM field is so strong to influence the magnetic field of planet Plant once every 4.36 years._

_**Planet name**: Plant (Tarble's note: Renamed Planet 'Vegeta', after war's end). **Type**: Super telluric. **Mass**: 1 P. **Orbiting** **moons**: 2, Moon and Crystal. **Orbital** **period**: 1 Plant year.__ **Conditions**: Habitable._ **- Note**: Planet Plant has a very high gravity compared to most telluric planets in the galaxy. This is due to a small fragment of the neutron star Seed in Plant's core. This contributes to the high volcanic activity of the planet.

_**Moon** **name**: Moon. **Type**: Telluric. **Mass**: 0,1 P. **Orbital** **period**: 0,99 Plant years.__ **Conditions**: Breathable atmosphere, no free water._ **- Note**: Moon is almost tide locked to Plant. She varies her phases very slowly, being full once every 100 years.

_**Moon name**: Crystal. **Type**: Ice (Heavy water and rare earths). **Mass**: 0,025 P. **Orbital** **period**: 0,875 Plant years. **- Note**: Comet captured by Plant's gravitational pull. Probably one million years ago.__ **Conditions**: Uninhabitable._ **- Note**: Crystal is almost tide locked to Plant. She varies her phases very slowly, being full once every 8 years.


	13. Chapter 13: Usagi

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Crystal: Thanks! Look for Ami's notes at the end of the chapter.

Whiteling: Read on, the answer is at the end of the chapter.

AnonymousZGirl: Umm, interesting idea about Usagi. We'll see about it.

Jewlbunny: I'm glad you liked the legend!

About the 'legend of the three lovers', I obviously made it up. To purists everywhere, remember this is not the canon DBZ universe, but a variation of it. So there will be differences. However Planet Vegeta is listed having two suns and two moons. I only added planet Thunder and decided about the sun's color and the small moon's name.

* * *

**Chapter 13, Usagi**

Despite the crowd in the mess hall Usagi felt very much alone. Her friends went away to mind their business and she was left with her thoughts. Dark thoughts, so unusual for her. Slapping the hands on the cheeks she forced herself out of sadness.

"All will be well! Ami is going to find a way to go home, she was positive on this. We will be back at the same time of our disappearance and no one is going to notice. We will have back our human bodies! Now I have just to learn to control this Oozaru thing and get to Elite level. Easy! Let's go!" She told to herself standing up and walking at a brisk pace out of the mess hall.

A few minutes later she realized to be lost. She wasn't even sure of where she was going in the first place!

"Silly me! I have this handy scouter. I have just to contact someone!" She punched in the codes of the central command.

"Hello? Central command? I'm Usagi and I'm searching for someone to train me…" She started to say.

The operator on the other end of the scouter line however was not very collaborative. "You again! This channel is meant for serious requests, not for giving directions, you idiot! Find a teacher yourself and never call back or I'll have you punished!" The communication was abruptly closed.

"How rude!" Usagi could not believe her ears. "They should fire you!" She yelled at the scouter, annoyed by the offensive reply received.

Still glowering, the young woman stomped her way through the halls of the fortress, wandering aimlessly for an hour. At last she found what she was searching, a training hall, one of the many built in the city. Alien writing over the entrance identified it as 'Training Hall #10 – Basic training'. On the wall someone added the words '_Runt's room_'.

"Oh, basic training is just what I need!" Usagi mumbled, reading effortlessly the alien characters. She walked in. The thought of exercising and sweating up strangely did not conjured up the usual loathing in her, probably due to the Saiyan body's energy and instincts. On the contrary, she felt elated.

The training hall was a large and squat structure with vaulted roof. Six huge square platforms at least 100 feet wide and one foot high occupied the entire floor. Scores of very young Saiyans were training on the platforms, under scrutiny of half a dozen instructors.

Usagi immediately identified one of them! "Nizuki! I have to flee before she founds me!" She gasped upon seeing her.

Trying to exit the hall as fast as possible she ran away without looking ahead, not noticing a tall warrior in her path. Crashing on his muscular chest, she fell backwards, hitting the floor with her bottom. The man's chest was hard as a steel wall!

"Ouch! Look where you are going, you dummy!" She yelled at him, only then recognizing captain Maizen.

The man arched an eyebrow, looking at her like an entomologist moments before spearing an insect with a needle.

Usagi panicked, immediately standing up and bowing repeatedly. "I'm s-so sorry, I-I didn't m-meant what I said! Please do not add me to your insect collection!"

The captain looked at her in confusion. "Insect collection? Are you mad meatball-head? Anyway, it's you who should be more alert! And why were you running away?" He asked trying to understand the situation.

Usagi was relieved, he wasn't mad at her, not yet. And he called her 'meatball-head'! It was so Mamo-chan of him! Blushing, she immediately launched herself in a complete explanation of the chain of events that brought her there, starting from the moment they emerged from the attack balls, back from Babke.

"… and then I saw Nizuki, and she told me not to bother her for at least a week, like I said you earlier, and I tried to flee before it was too late and I bumped into you as I was not looking, my bad!" She said concluding the five minutes long account.

Maizen was a very patient man, unusually so for a Saiyan warrior, but even him was mightily sweat dropping at the long and needlessly long story she articulated. "There was no need to be so detailed. Anyway, Nizuki was speaking figuratively. She wouldn't harm you for seeking instruction! I even ordered you to do so."

Usagi's eyes sparkled. "Really? May I ask her then?"

Maizen found her reactions puerile but refreshingly open. "I can sense great potential here, but she is like a child and really needs training." He thought walking towards Nizuki, who was blissfully unaware of the impending doom while training the kids. Usagi followed him like a puppy.

"Nizuki! I need your services!" He called her with authoritative voice.

The warrior woman jumped at the command of her beloved captain, immediately standing at attention before him. "Sir! By your command Sir!" She bellowed moments before noticing Usagi.

"What? You? I told you not to bother me! You stupid bun-head!" She barked at the young woman, forgetting the captain's presence.

"Mind your words, Nizuki!" Maizen admonished her. "I want you to train this girl in all of the basic skills of a warrior. You can teach her together with the kids; she's indeed totally untrained and will fit in." He said smirking at Usagi.

"Hey! I'm not a kid anymore!" She pouted, finally understanding she was to be trained with little children!

Nizuki looked at the captain with disbelieving eyes. "B-but… she is a lazy dumb dimwit! Her presence will ruin the class!"

The captain looked at her with calm eyes, in which Nizuki always lost herself. "Nizuki, I gave you an order. I have the outmost respect of your abilities; I know you can do it. Make me proud of you." He told her with his deep, caring voice. Nizuki blushed deeply, nodding in assent.

"Now I have to go. I'm going to do my usual walk through the training halls, and then I'll go to the castle. I was invited by the King to a formal dinner. All the generals will be there." He told her.

"Oh, the King invited you! He wants to promote you to general for sure! It's a great honor!" The warrior woman shouted happily.

"There is no certainty of that. Captain Nappa could be promoted instead. I'm going to try to win the King's favor over him. We cannot keep wasting good warriors on his foolish attack plan. Meat's defenses are too strong for direct attack." He explained them.

Nizuki nodded at him, in admiration of his analytical mind. Maizen was very smart, strong and handsome. She wanted to crush him in her arms, savor his scent and bite him to taste his blood! But he was elite. A low-class warrior like her had no chances…

Usagi could see clearly the adoration in Nizuki's eyes. "He's so similar to Mamo-chan, yet so different. I think she loves him desperately. But he only respects her. This will bring trouble…" She thought, unusually receptive.

She knew Mamoru well, and Maizen had the same look Mamo-chan always reserved for his friends. His loving eyes, oh they were so different and full of passion. It hurt not to see him looking at her with love, but she had to remember he wasn't her boyfriend at all!

The captain was on the point of leaving when Nizuki slapped her brow. "I have to tell you something sir! An hour ago Central Command left us a huge database with the information from the census lord Frieza requested last week! There are more than ten thousand entries! I can't possibly check all of them while I fulfill my other duties!"

She was horrified by the amount of paperwork on her desk. She never even used her desk before! "Please, can you help me? Otherwise we will not be ready for Lord Frieza's visit, next month!"

The captain considered her plea, and then he had an idea. "Usagi, can you use a computer terminal?" He asked the girl.

"Uh… I can, usually. I mean, I'm not a genius or whatever, but anyone can check a simple database, it is not difficult, only boring…" She remarked, starting to understand his idea. Anything the warrior woman could do with a computer she felt capable of doing better. The psycho killer woman didn't seemed tech oriented to her.

"… I can help Nizuki doing this, if you want me to." She added.

"Well, you have your help now, Nizuki. You will train her, and she will help you. Perfect symmetry. Now I must go, I'm late. Good work!" He told them smirking while walking away.

Nizuki, dumbfounded, growled at Usagi. "I… you… This can't be possible!"

Usagi struck her tongue at her! "Perfect symmetry!" She said, teasingly.

Nizuki punched her.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Later the same morning, Usagi was completing the exercises Nizuki told her to do. She had a med-tech plug some bandages in her nose, to staunch the blood flow. "She broke bhy dhose… that bitch!" The nose was hurting her, but she had fun nonetheless. The kids, all children from four to six years of age, accepted her immediately calling her 'Buns-head'.

After four full hours of training she learned to control the Oozaru form. She was not that proud of the accomplishment as her classmates managed to do the same in only two hours! Then they learned to fly, while she was able only to slowly levitate herself. She could fly faster… But control was beyond her abilities.

The first time she floated in the air, Nizuki told her to increase speed. She did exactly that, rocketing into the wall! The second time she could not control herself at all, somersaulting randomly in the air and finally smashing on a pile of mats. The kids found that very funny and laughed so much Nizuki had to scold them to resume training. So Usagi decided to stay put and limit herself to a slow hovering. Better safe than sorry.

The only things she was good at were energy attacks. Remembering her first fight against the Saibai man, she effortlessly created a disc made of pure power, throwing it with ease. Her attack was so concentrated it was cutting instead of explosive. She could control its flight path only at launch, but it unerringly returned to her after striking. Nizuki was very impressed by her skill, but managed to not show it too much.

Usagi affectionately called her attack "_Moon tiara action_" despite not involving a tiara at all. The name struck the imagination of the children training with her and they all gave childish names to their attacks, much to Nizuki's irritation. Cries of "_Galactica crushing donuts_!" "_Space serious slasher_!" "_Bombacious bomber barrage_!" and other silly appellations echoed in the training hall, feeding Nizuki's growing headache.

"Enough!" She yelled to the top of her lungs, startling the children. "You are all dismissed! Go home to pester your parents. We are finished for today!"

"But we were having fun!" One of them told her, the other children nodding in agreement. Usagi was nodding with them.

"Go! Home! Immediately!" She shouted, nearing a nervous breakdown. "Not you!" She barked at Usagi, heading out of the hall with the kids. "You have to help me with the database search!"

Usagi remembered her promise to captain Maizen. "Uh, yeah! Now I remember! Sure, I'm coming…" She said following the fuming warrior out of the halls.

Smiling she waved at the kids and they waved at her back. "They are normal kids when shown kindness. Maybe a bit rough, but basically OK. Why they become so uncaring growing up?" She mused while walking.

The answer had to wait; they arrived in Maizen's office. It was a huge control hall, full of monitors and computer terminals. A large cylindrical holographic display took up the center of the room. A transparent door separated a small desk from the hall. Nizuki pointed at the door. "That is the captain's private office. No entering unless called, OK?" She looked straight in Usagi's eyes, a menacing glare in her own.

"No entering. Clear!" Usagi snapped at attention, refraining from any type of joking. Her nose still hurt! Looking around she saw many displays showing the interior of the fortress, mainly training halls. In one of them Usagi could clearly see Saiyans playing volleyball! Squinting over the screen she recognized Minako in the field giving orders to one of the two squads. "Only Minako could think of teaching volleyball to the Saiyans!" She thought smiling.

"Well... This will be your station." The warrior spat at her, punching some codes on the keyboard. Forced to pay attention Usagi examined the computer, it looked primitive to her. "Maybe our earth's PC's are more advanced?" She asked herself seating at the station.

Nizuki continued the explanation. "You enter your id code here and the system sets up for work. You have to read all the data I'll give you and mark all the records with this value over 3.14 with a red star. That's all for now."

Usagi found all of this pretty simple. "Ami probably could do this work in a minute!" She thought immediately. Not wanting to bother her she was nonetheless curios about the strange procedure. The value she was supposed to check was labeled 'PLGR'.

"Excuse me, Nizuki. What's this PLGR and why you don't give this job to a tech? It seems to me that they work here just for these occasions." Usagi asked out of sincere curiosity.

"It stands for; 'Power Level Growth Ratio'. And you are right; it's a tech's job. But the King ordered not to show this data to the PTO technicians. I don't know why. So we have to do it ourselves! Boring crap!" She awkwardly worked on the keyboard with only two fingers.

Just then someone called her on the scouter. "Nizuki, can I answer the call?" She asked, wary of the warrior's reactions. Grumbling her assent, the woman concentrated on her work. Sighing in relief Usagi activated the device.

"Usagi? I'm Rei. Do you hear me?" Her friend's voice came from the scouter.

"Rei-chan, are you OK? Is Minako with you?" She replied immediately. She had seen her playing volleyball but Rei was not on the screen at the time.

"I'm well, thank you. I... made some acquaintances. I will stay out for the night. But everything is OK. Umm... Wait a moment, Minako? She's not here!" Rei replied somewhat surprised.

Usagi heard Nizuki grumbling again, she wanted her working on the data, not chatting on the scouter. Better cut short the conversation. "She's not there? But she came after you this morning! I'll try to reach her. I'll call you later! Bye Rei-chan!"

Usagi was a bit worried for her friends, but now she had to work on the data. The program interface was very different from what she was used to, but not so much. Ami trained her in the basics some time ago and she found it to be an easy task. She simply had to order the entries by the required data and check all the ones over the requisite value in one single fell swoop. "Ta-daah! I've finished!" She told the warrior after only five minutes.

Nizuki felt a creeping cold sensation overpowering her. Either the young dork had made a mess of the data, or she was a computer genius, at least by Saiyan standards! She could already see her captain scolding her for the lost time or promoting Usagi over her… Horrible! Standing up from her station she hurried to read the data. To her chagrin she had really finished the work in only five minutes!

"Y-you can go now. Return here tomorrow morning. Dismissed." She told her flatly, fully expecting to be fired the next morning. "I have to kill her now… I will tell Maizen she had an accident and…" Her thoughts were interrupted by the abominable girl's squeaking voice.

"I can teach you how to do it too, so we will both be praised by the captain tomorrow. Let me show you!" She explained the simple passages needed in a few moments, under Nizuki's dumbfounded stare. It was so easy… The need to smash her smiling face became stronger. "Can't do it, can't do it, can't do it!" She repeated in her mind. Then an idea brightened her mood.

"You have to train your fighting skills, do you, Usagi _dear_?" She asked her. "We have already finished here, and there's still time until dinner. Do you want to train _a little_?" She added literally dripping honey from all her pores, a false smile on her face.

Usagi's danger sense warned her of the strange attitude of the warrior. That '_dear'_ sounded really false to her and the '_a little_' was suspicious too! "Hum, sorry Nizuki, I have to go!" She replied standing up. The woman grabbed her by an arm however.

"I insist!" Crushing her arm Nizuki dragged her back into the training room, now completely empty.

"Let me go! Nizuki please, you are hurting me!" Usagi knew from previous experience that she was in danger. The woman was clearly furious. But why? She only wanted to help her! Still struggling to free herself, Usagi was hauled into the room and thrown upon a training platform. The warrior woman immediately took a fighting stance.

"Defend yourself! I will let you go only if you manage to hurt me, even a little bit!" She said, smiling smugly. She knew Usagi's strength was only a fraction of hers.

The young ex-senshi looked at the warrior with disbelieving eyes. Nizuki thrashed Makoto in a few seconds! She had no chances!

The Saiyan warrior charged the young woman at full speed, trying to hit her with a backhand slash on the exposed neck. Usagi dodged at the last moment tumbling on her left, Nizuki's hand narrowly missing her body and cutting a few strands of hair.

Somersaulting Usagi stood up after the dodge, only to being forced to dodge again. Nizuki stopped her charge hitting the wall with her feet and then rebounding in her direction, trying to knee her in the chest.

Again narrowly avoiding a crushing hit, she ran away from the warrior at top speed, only to find the woman in front of her. She was fast!

"Running away won't be enough!" She said punching her in the guts. Doubling over from the pain and the shock, Usagi looked at her with defiant eyes.

"I don't want to fight you." She replied whispering, winded by the hit. Nizuki replied kicking her in the face.

"Oops! I'm sorry for your nose, I hit it again!" She laughed evilly, finally able to vent up her frustrations on the poor girl.

Usagi, sprawling on the ground, was in a world of pain. Most of her old enemies relied on energy attacks; the agony they inflicted her was great but usually brief. Only Galaxia physically hit her. She wasn't used to this level of brutishness. The warrior took hold of her long tails, dragging her in the center of the hall.

"Now I'll teach you a lesson. Why long hair is an inconvenience! You will never know when some insane guy will grab it and use you for his crazy games!" She said while swinging her by the hair in a spin, faster and faster.

Usagi could only scream from the pain, grabbing her own hair trying to save her scalp from ripping itself from the head. After swinging in circle a few times, Nizuki threw her towards the wall! "Time to rest! Lean on the wall _dear_. Or I meant _crush_?!"

Usagi, half blinded from the pain, knew a hit on the wall with the head at this speed would be fatal. She could only try one trick. She flew full speed towards Nizuki! Stopping in mid-air, her body reversed direction in a powerful and uncontrolled flying charge. Nizuki's scouter beeped madly as Usagi's power level increased from under a thousand to three thousands in half a second!

"Yeeeeeeaaaah!" Usagi screamed in terror as her body smashed Nizuki at full speed. The warrior was so completely surprised by the power increase of the girl to forget dodging. The two women slammed on the opposite wall in a tumble of arms and legs, Nizuki taking the brunt of the impact.

"Ouch!" Usagi tried to untangle herself from the woman, but her body refused to move. She was completely spent. Looking at her nemesis, she was surprised to see her crying. "N-Nizuki! What? I wounded you? I-I'm sorry, I only wanted to avoid crushing on the wall!" She told her, sincerely concerned.

The warrior woman looked away, trying to conceal her face. "I know. That's why I hate you!" She told her, anger mixing with sadness.

Usagi still couldn't understand what she was talking about. "You hate me, I know that. But I can't understand why!"

"Why? You ask me why? You arrive here completely ignorant and weak, and HE gives you a chance. You spit on the mission I gave you upon HIS orders, accusing ME of being cruel, and HE gives YOU guidance. What is he seeing in you? Why can't he see me in the same way? Why you have to be so gentle and so powerful at the same time? Fight me! You coward!" She yelled trying to stand up, only to fall again alongside Usagi on the floor. The terrible hit on the wall had crushed bones and exhausted her stamina. Only the amazing Saiyan endurance saved her from death.

Usagi pondered on her words for quite a long time. They were still on the floor, panting heavily. After a while she tried to reply. "I can't tell you for sure, Nizuki. I'm not trying to win his attentions. You can trust me on this. I already have a special person, and Maizen is not in my sights." She sighed, sensing her relaxing a bit.

"However, I have to tell you that he seems to look at you only like at a good subordinate, maybe a friend. And he could be attracted by me. It's a possibility. I would never encourage him however so please, don't lose hope. You can do it. Try to understand him. Do not take him for granted. Ask him his opinion on everything, this way you could know his real self. And be honest with him. He will appreciate it." Usagi said, feeling like she was giving instructions on how to hook Mamoru… weird!

Nizuki could not believe her ears. She was giving her recommendations and advice, after nearly being killed by her! "This girl is immensely stupid or incredibly naïve! Maybe both!" She thought. Yet she kept notice of all the suggestions Usagi gave her. You never know…

Trying again to stand up, she wobbled on her feet, leaning on the wall. Usagi followed her example standing next to her. Nizuki was starting to fall over, but she took the woman by the arm, pulling it over her shoulder. "I think we should visit the medical center. I'm a mess!" She told her chuckling.

"You are doing it again!" Nizuki shouted struggling to free herself. She was too weak however.

"It's payback for my broken nose! Live with it!" She replied sticking her tongue out again.

Sighing, the warrior woman ceased her struggling. They limped to the nearest healing center that by chance was the one Usagi had already visited over and over. Entering the well-known chamber she was surprised to see a woman grimly looking at the body of a deceased warrior. An unknown fish-looking tech was arguing with Planthorr.

"I'm saying he obviously died of a massive neural breakdown! How could you tell me otherwise? It does not make any sense!" The fish alien was evidently angry at the white haired scientist.

"What I'm saying is you are mistaken! You can clearly see here the damage you caused to his neural pathways trying to improperly neutralize the shock he suffered to the chest area. You injected him with the wrong dose of neural stabilizer! It's like you killed him!" Planthorr was almost shouting at the now very angry tech.

"You have not even looked at my data! Are you trying to discredit me?" He yelled back.

Usagi and Nizuki patiently waited in a corner of the room, the latter on the verge of fainting and the former very interested in the situation.

The scene was obvious to her. The man died in some accident and the tech tried to save him. Now Planthorr was accusing him of having killed his patient due to incompetence. She could see the grieving woman growing angrier by the second. This worried her, knowing of the Saiyan's bad temper. When the woman finally snapped she shouted a warning at the tech. "Look out!"

The grieving Saiyan threw a power ball at the poor tech, who tried in vain to dodge the attack, warned by Usagi. The power ball connected on the right shoulder, slamming him on one of the healing cylinders. The young woman rushed to help, while Planthorr looked at the scene with horror filled eyes.

"You killed my Rentiro! Now you will die!" The woman was screaming to the top of her lungs, charging two other power balls. She wanted to destroy everything? Usagi, crouching over the wounded tech, concentrated on her own attack. When she felt the power in her fingertips she created a buzzing disc of force, throwing it at the two power balls the woman fired at her.

The attacks collided in mid-air vanishing in a mighty blast. Usagi was pushed away by the force of the explosion, but she managed to grab the tech and protect him from smashing on something. However she slammed against a computer, crushing it. "Oww!" She yelped in pain, as she felt something in her body snapping.

The woman managed to stand up and began charging another attack. Usagi could not stop her anymore. She looked in her bloodshot eyes, finding no mercy. "Please, I know your pain, but this madness will not give him back to you." She said, trying to reach her. But it was too late. The woman almost threw the new power ball when a well-placed energy ray pierced her heart, killing her in an instant. She slumped on the floor, dead.

Nizuki lowered her hand, all energy completely drained. "Tsk. Less babble, more action, Buns-head!" She smirked at Usagi then fainted on the floor.

The young woman bit her lip, trying not to cry. Another needless death! She was losing consciousness when the tech, almost dead himself, whispered something in her ear. "I've n-not killed him. S-something else did, m-maybe poison… It is not normal… The woman too… Angry… Beware…" Then everything went black as she fainted.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Usagi felt her body float in bliss. Something bubbled near her ears. She was wearing a mask. In a healing pod. Again. She opened her eyes looking out of the pod. No-one was in sight. Patiently waiting to be discharged from the machine she could not even sigh in annoyance. Shivering she remembered the medtech final words…

Finally the green goo was sucked away from the pod. Standing naked in the medical chamber she felt fine, stronger! Clenching her fist she could not miss the muscles bulging in her body and the sensation of raw power they gave her. Nizuki left her pod at the same time, smiling at her. "It's the Zenkai. Our power has increased. I feel great too!" She punched the air two or three times, to appraise her new strength.

"Where is our clothing?" Asked Usagi. "I don't even remember entering the pods. Look! Most of them are broken. No-one is here!" She looked everywhere but they were alone. She found their armor, under suits and scouters on a table though. She waved at Nizuki to call her. "I found the clothes."

The warrior moved to the table, wearing her under suit. Usagi, donning hers blushed trying to find the words. "Y-you saved me today. That woman was going to kill me. Thanks!" She tried to hug her but Nizuki shoved her away.

"Don't grow sentimental on me! I don't even know why I did it! I hate you!" She growled at her, furiously waving her tail! The growl died out and became a soft moan! "Ooooh! W-what? Stop it!"

Usagi had entwined their tails together, gently holding Nizuki's with hers. "No. I'm not stopping until you accept me! I don't want to be hated; I want to be your friend! Please Nizuki!" She placed her hands on her shoulders, looking in her eyes with gentle sadness.

The soft tailshake was really relaxing and the woman was moved by her words. Maybe she misjudged her. She accepted the hug. "OK, we will be friends, but you still have to train. I want you in the training hall #10 tomorrow morning! You are going to learn to fight, no excuses!"

Usagi nodded smiling brightly. She was going to say something when the warrior woman kissed her passionately! She squirmed for a moment but her hands kept her firmly hugged, while their tails wiggled together with more strength. She was lost in the relaxing sensations coming from the tail, so intense she could not do anything else. "So this is what Haruka and Michiru feel? Mamo-chan, help me!" Finally the woman let her go.

"Remember, you do a tailshake only to your bedmates, you dummy!" She told her smirking. Walking away she left her dumbfounded. "Tomorrow morning, don't forget! Good night Usagi."

Still shivering from the kiss, the young woman shook her head. "She kissed me! Bedmates? I did that without thinking! Damned Saiyan instincts! I definitely need a manual. But… She called me by name… I did it! We are friends! Yes!"

Happy to have found a friend on the god-forsaken planet she walked towards her quarters. This time she remembered the way and arrived there in only a few minutes. Opening the door she shouted inside. "Hey, guys! You can't imagine…" She stopped. The room was dark. No one was home.

Grumbling she turned on the light, sitting on her bunk. "I have to call them. Let's try with Rei first."

However Rei's scouter never accepted her calls, she tried twenty three times without luck. She did not fared better with the others. Ami and Minako were not reachable and Makoto's scouter was off. Finally Rei called her back!

"Reiiii-chan!Iwassoworriedforyou!Tellmewhatitishappened!Ohmygodareyouwell…" Usagi shouted at the top of her lungs, comforted to hear one of her friends. She had a very bad day.

"Ouch, Usagi! Please slow down! I'm still OK. Are you all right?" Rei replied.

Usagi sighed in relief. "Oh, I'm a bit lonely here, in our quarters… No one showed up. I can't reach Makoto, her scouter is off. Ami is still with Tarble and Minako is playing some game. And you?"

Rei's voice was strangely wavering. "Hem… I have good news. The Babkians… it seems most of the population escaped by starship. We only fought against their army." She started to tell her.

Usagi was very happy! "Oh, this is good news! Those poor Babkians, I'm glad to hear that."

Rei gulped down hard. "And then, I was promoted court-seer by the King and challenged captain Nappa to a duel to the death. Cool eh?"

"Court seer? Nice! They will pay you for it or something… wait! You challenged that Nappa monster to a death duel? Are you mad? And you always tell me to keep a cool head! How could you do something so unwise? I can't tell you how this is…" Usagi could not believe her ears!

"Please, Usagi, It's not a big deal. I'm with Jean-san now and she says I have a chance. Please, come in the castle's plaza in an hour. We will think of something." Rei was clearly embarrassed but as always she kept her cool.

"OK, I'll contact the others. I'll tell them to be at the plaza in one hour. Don't do anything stupid! Please!" She sighed; scolding Rei was a new thing for her.

"Roger! Thank you Usagi-chan." She replied closing the connection.

Usagi punched feverishly her friend's codes on the scouter, finally reaching Makoto, then Minako and at last Ami. Having told them the bad news, she stood up, ready to go. Then her stomach growled. "Argh! I'm super hungry! No time to go to the mess hall!" She ransacked the quarters, finding some canned food. Emergency rations. Devouring everything in five minutes, she left the room.

Looking at the balcony at the end of the hall she had an idea. "The palace must be that building. It seems a castle. On foot I have no idea how to reach it so…" She jumped over!

Falling swiftly to the ground, she concentrated her power rocketing away at the last moment! "Hyaaaaaa!" She shouted skimming the ground. Gaining altitude she flew straight at the castle.

Crashing full speed on the walls of the training hall or slowly levitating around was not funny, but now, with all the sky at her disposal… "This is amazing! I'm really flying! Yaahoooooo!"

After a few seconds of flying she saw someone else in the sky. Changing course she managed to notice Minako flying happily. At the same time they were caught up by Ami and Tarble. "Hey, you too! You all learned to fly! This is wonderful! I feel great!" She shouted at them, her eyes sparkling in delight.

Minako laughed too. "You are right! Flying is great!" Ami nodded, composed as usual. Usagi could see her eyes glimmer with joy however, and she did not miss the way Tarble looked at her friend.

Finally making to the plaza they all landed gracefully, save Usagi. She plunged into the decorative bush head on! "Ouch! I've still to work on landings!" She told them sweat dropping.

Rei and Jean were already in the plaza. Her friend had changed clothing and was wearing a classy outfit. Jean sported a cape over her back like Maizen did. Working at the palace had some perks evidently.

They were shortly met by Makoto, running on the street. "Hey! You can all fly! I saw you overhead. That's not fair" The tall girl pouted, unaccustomed to be the slowest. Yet, flying scared her to death. "You must be careful Usagi; you could hurt yourself landing like that." She said while her friend was plucking twigs from her hair.

"There's no time to waste in platitudes kiddo!" Jean's voice startled them.

"Rei has a difficult duel scheduled for tomorrow morning. Nappa will definitely kill her, so we must think of something." She started, taking the lead.

"What do you suggest?" Asked Makoto, still suspicious of the Runner's motives.

Jean shrugged. "The simplest way would be 'almost' killing her a few times. Using a medical machine and hoping in zenkai she could become stronger…" The girls started to protest but she cut them short. "… But this would take time and it is too risky."

Makoto was starting to lose her temper. "And…?"

Sighing, Jean closed her eyes. "I'm going to use all of my remaining Karma. I can't see any other way. I'll give all of you the chance to find your real hidden strength!" She opened her eyes, and they were not human anymore! They were glowing, small swirling clouds of red and blue slowly rotating around white pupils.

Unearthly light shone from her, while small blue and red lightning crackled over her body. She started to speak, her voice having a metallic sound. "Who's first?"

* * *

**Ami's Scouter Data.**

- Recording. Planet Vegeta. Day 71.

I'll record here some interesting information on Saiyan physiology found in my scouter's memory banks. Could be useful. I must take care not to show this file to Usagi. She could be saddened by it. I was.

**- File 19385792.Q037** – Saiyan physiology analysis.

Following the dissection of many specimens it was possible to discern several dissimilarities in anatomy, over simple size difference.

- **Skin**: Under the first strata of dead tissue a mesh of naturally occurring protein-carbon fibers appear to toughen the skin structure. It is very hard to puncture and endures impact but it has less resistance to cutting. My esteemed colleague could pierce the skin of the specimen easily with a laser scalpel. Normal blades must be applied with extreme strength to be useful.

- **Muscle**: The specimen was a male and his muscular structure was impressive. It was reinforced by the same carbon filaments found in the skin. Only, this time the mesh was three dimensional and appeared to be bound to the muscle fibers. This can enhance muscle power as the filaments can be tightened at the same time of the muscles. Thus the average Saiyan can press several times his weight over his head.

- **Skeleton**: The specimen's skeleton was damaged by weapon fire, but we were able to study it nonetheless. Saiyan osteoblasts are responsible for the extremely advanced composite structure of the skeleton. They are capable of generating five different tissue types, from the normal calcium bone structure to advanced carbon filaments and three kinds of bridging fibers. One absorbs impacts, the second is highly elastic and the third seems capable of repairing itself at a very high rate.

- **Circulatory system**: The Saiyan's circulatory system is surprisingly normal. The only remarkable differences are the capability to close rapidly any ruptured blood vessel and the already analyzed muscle structure of the heart, obviously superior to ours. We preserved the specimen's heart in a stasis jar to study it in deeper detail later. See pulmonary system.

- **Pulmonary system**: Again, the only difference we could find was really in the blood. The Saiyan's red cells are more advanced than ours, thanks to a different and extraordinarily complex hemoglobin with 144 globin chains! This protein can transport oxygen much more efficiently than the normal hemoglobin in our bodies and can work even in poisoned air for a short time. The blood clots rapidly once out of the body, even in stasis, so we had to drain five specimens to study it.

- **Nervous system**: The Saiyan's nervous system was found to be fairly normal in structure. A disproportionate part of the brain is devoted to hand-eye and full motor coordination. The system incorporates special carbon filaments over myelin sheaths. However a higher than normal number of Glial cells was found, in a 2:1 proportion over neurons. These cells constantly rebuild the neuron pathways every time they are damaged. We think they are responsible for the Zenkai effect (see file #39091247-K613). The Glial cells surviving a damaged area 'memorize' the effect that was responsible for the damage and react secreting stimulants for the rebuilding of an improved cell structure. They also modify the nervous system to be able to cope with high speed movements and impacts. We suggest to test the Zenkai effect on the new specimens taken form the Galangal reservation the last week.

- **Senses**: Saiyans have the normal five senses we all have. Their sense of smell is highly effective, on par with most hunting animals in the northern forests. Touch, Eyesight, Taste and Hearing are normal.

- **Tail**: _Information secreted by request of the Royal Tsufuru Bureau of Defense._

_**- Unexpected end of file.**_


	14. Chapter 14: The Duel

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Half-beastdragonsoul: Thanks! Actually they can't. They are using their Ki, not the planet powers. About Tarble, I sent you a PM with the (long) explanation.

Jewlbunny: I have plenty of information files. I like having a consistent background before writing. Usagi's misadventures just started. ^^

AnonymousZGirl: It's because she's so loving and understanding. The reason for the kiss will surprise you… can't tell why! Thanks!

Crystal: Wow! Ten happy faces! You made my day, thanks!

SeleneAnadyomene: Read on, their showdown is in this chapter. Thanks!

Sunshinekc: There's a reason for the kiss… there will be fireworks indeed! Here's the fight. Thanks ^^

Whiteling: Read on, you'll see ^^

* * *

**Chapter 14, The Duel**

Jean's voice, unearthly and metallic, accentuated the alien appearance of the small blue and red lightning crackling over her body. "Who's first?" She said, looking at the girls.

The most shocked however was Tarble. "W-what are you doing? Who are you?" The young Saiyan never met Jean before, so he assumed she was a friend of Ami and the others. But now…

The runner raised an eyebrow at his comment. "Whoops! I forgot 'bout him! Look! A flying grokk!" She said pointing behind him.

Tarble, being a good natured and trusting young man immediately turned to see the strange beast. Jean chopped her hand on the back of his neck, downing him. "The oldest tricks always work!" She said smiling.

"Tarble!" Ami gasped at the scene. "There was no need to stun him!" Kneeling beside the poor boy she checked his conditions. He was knocked out cold but otherwise fine.

"Jean-san! That was an act of brutish rudeness on your part!" Usagi chided the woman, annoyed. She had the knack to make her angry whatever she did. Makoto and Minako nodded in agreement, while Rei sighed.

"She was right to stun him. We must keep our real identities secret. However Jean, you should have waited to be alone with us before starting the fireworks!" Rei shook her head at the woman, ignoring the gasp of disbelief from her friends.

"Rei-chan! You are defending her now?" Ami asked while still tending Tarble.

Before Rei could reply, the Runner stopped them. "Yeah, yeah! I forgot him, sorry for that. Don't quarrel because of me. We should bring him somewhere safe and we need a place where scouters can't find us. Anyone knows of such a place?"

"The science tower." Ami replied immediately. "Tarble told me it is shielded."

"Yes! I tried to contact her all day, but the scouter could not find Ami!" Usagi told them excitedly.

"Well, let's fly there. I'm the strongest so I'll pick up Tarble" Jean said, but Ami was not of the same opinion.

"You have done enough, I'll take him." She said coldly, while lifting Tarble from the floor and taking him on her shoulders. She immediately took off towards the tower.

"Uh…" Mumbled Makoto. "I c-can't fly… I'll c-come by foot…" She stammered, trying to slip away.

Blinding fast, Jean moved behind her and grabbed her waist. "No need to worry, I'll carry you. To the tower!" She said taking off before a struggling Makoto had the time to scream.

Looking at them and hearing the faint voice of her friend yelling desperately, Usagi whispered to herself. "I don't like her at all…"

Rei and Minako joined her. The Shinto priestess sighed. "She's a loner. Remember Haruka and Michiru when we first met them?" She started to levitate slowly.

"Yes, but as I disliked their methods, I don't like hers. And… why are you so slow, Rei-chan?" She told her, noticing her meager fly speed.

Rei blushed red. "I learned to fly this morning, by accident! This is all I can do at this moment!" She replied, annoyed by Usagi's remark.

"Ku Ku Ku, I'll call you Snail-chan! I'm going to wait for you at the tower! Byeeeeeeeeeeeaaargh!" Usagi started to say, before rocketing away in the wrong direction, upside down!

Minako sighed. "I'll catch her; meanwhile you should go to the tower." She said, gracefully flying after Usagi.

Rei concentrated on her power, slowly increasing her speed. "This will be a long night, I feel it!"

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

When they were finally together at the science tower, Usagi and Minako were amazed by the sight.

"Wow! It's like being in a Museum! What's this? And that?" Chirped Minako while touching buttons.

A computer voice announced coldly; "Nuclear Self-destruct sequence initiated! You have one minute to leave the tower. Thanks for your cooperation!" Ami rushed to the computer station with a terrified face, immediately deactivating the sequence.

"Mi. Na. Ko! Don't touch anything, don't breathe on anything, be elsewhere!" The young genius scolded her, cold sweat still running on her brow. "This place is full of dangerous devices, please!" She added pleading to her friends.

She had already brought Tarble to his station, where the young Saiyan had a comfortable armchair. It was not a bed, but he could rest in it while recovering from the stunning attack. She looked venomously at the Runner.

Jean sweat dropped feeling the deathly stare on her back. "I already apologized! Please Ami; don't stab me with your eyes!"

The young woman sighed. It was difficult for her to feel anger for a long time. "OK, but next time, speak before acting." She replied.

"Well, returning to our little duel situation, I was asking who's first?" Jean glowed again.

Makoto stopped her, still pissed by being forced to fly. "Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute! What are you planning to do? I don't entirely trust you, you know? After all, it's you that brought us here in the first place!"

The runner shrugged. "Technically, it was Usagi's tampering with my duel to start the chain of events that brought you here, however I can understand your reluctance. I'll try to explain."

She sat cross legged on the floor. "My real powers are not physical. To make it simple, I can 'feel' with my senses all the probable consequences of an event. Any event I can experience with my senses. If I can see it, touch it, taste it… hear or smell… I can feel all the possible outcomes." She sighed at their puzzled faces. Ami was the only one to nod in understanding.

"It's easier to comprehend speaking of sight. I 'see' images superimposed to my normal vision. For example, I see Usagi scratching her itching nose now. But I also 'see' her picking her nose and also scratching her ear, and pulling her hair, all together! By the way, doing that isn't a lady's thing, miss!" She scolded her.

Usagi gasped in annoyance. "I've done nothing of that! It's unfair…"

Jean smirked. "You could have… The more probable is an effect the more vivid the image. I chose to interrupt you, thus selecting your following action, in this case 'complaining'. This way I can manipulate events to my liking. I even 'see' them in differing colors. Red tinted for the good ones, Blue for the bad ones. Good and bad in the karmic sense of the word, mind that."

Rei was starting to understand. "That's why you spoke of karma. It's like the Shinto belief about Kyome and Kegare! So if you interfere in positive ways you build good karma and the events get more and more positive?"

The Runner smiled at her. "Yes. My power lets me influence greater events, until I can defeat the Void and absorb his bad karma. Then I use it to open a dimthread and run to another universe, nullifying it. End of story."

"So, the Void's power is linked to bad karma, the opposite of yours? But what happens if you use your power to gather bad karma?" Rei had a foreboding feeling about this.

"Bad karma means bad things. Very bad. But enough digressing, better stick to our current situation. That is, I can use my power to make you aware of your _real_ power. Any still unknown skill, ability, achievement, whatever. You will know how to gain it, at least in theory. Getting it could still be difficult though. No easy button sorry."

Makoto snapped her fingers. "This is how you could easily defeat the Saibai man, when we first came here!"

Jean nodded. "Yes, I used my last karma to find this body's real power. I felt in me the ability to generate an enormous strength for a limited time and to a great risk for my health, and used it. It's a technique that multiplies your base power, but it is damaging. The strain is tremendous. I trained for two full months every moment Nappa was away, and I still can't manage to do more than tripling my strength for half a minute. However I can reach a power level of twelve thousands now…"

"Twelve thousands!?" The girls were awed, with a power like that one could destroy a mountain!

"Yes, for thirty seconds and breaking every bone and muscle in my body! And no, I can't teach it to Rei. It requires too much time to train to use it safely. However this is _my_ hidden power. Yours could be different. You only have to try. Let me use my karma on you and we'll see."

Looking at each other, the girls were obviously hesitant. Rei was the first to volunteer. "I made the mess, I'll go first. Work your magic!" She bravely told her.

Nodding, the woman placed the hands on her back. "This could be unpleasant. Try to bear it."

Rei gulped, having second thoughts, but she had made up her mind. "Go ahead." She replied.

Immediately the world imploded on her! For a moment, shorter than a blink of an eye, she was the universe, and the universe was her. Infinite worlds, life-forms, matter, power and over everything… infinite understanding. Her face darkened to black, stars and galaxies shimmering within, while a shroud of flames enveloped her. She staggered for a moment, then the universe faded back and she regained her senses.

"Rei-chan!" Usagi was the first to help her, followed immediately by the others. "How are you?" She asked her, concerned for her well-being.

Rei could only muster the strength for a whisper. "A-Absolute k-knowledge! I-I…" She shook her head. "F-for an instant I knew! I knew everything! I was the universe! I could see everything and relate it to me… it was… so humbling, and… comforting at the same time. Oh, I could feel your love for me, my friends! Thank you so much! I love you too!" She hugged them wholeheartedly, almost crying.

Usagi looked at Jean perplexed. "What have you done to Rei-chan? Is she possessed?"

"Usagi! I'm thanking you and you make fun of me! You… undeserving…" Rei was very annoyed by the comment, and stuck out her tongue at Usagi.

"Oh, now I recognize her! That's better!" Usagi replied, sticking her tongue back at Rei.

They all laughed out loud, save Jean. The runner was a bit tired. "Are you Ok, Jean-san? Asked her Minako, still laughing.

"Yes. It was… intense. I was surprised, that's all." She sighed. "Now all Rei has to do is meditate on the experience. She will find the answer she needs in a short time. Meanwhile I'll power up you four."

And she did. Makoto zapped her with lightning, Minako shone with golden light, like a beacon. Ami froze their feet on the floor and they had to break the ice to move again.

Only on Usagi the procedure had absolutely no effect. Strangely enough, Usagi was relieved. "Probably because I can already transform into Eternal Sailor Moon. My power is so great I have no hidden power left." She told them smiling. "I felt so lonely being the strongest one. Maybe now you can all transform into Eternal form!"

Jean looked at Usagi, puzzled by the lack of results. "It's a possibility. Still, it should have given us some sign or whatever. Well… Rei has priority, let us help her."

The Shinto priestess was meditating on her experience. Feeling the universe in her was strange but enlightening. Were her seer powers affected? She needed a fire to try. She was going to ask for one when she 'felt' Tarble awakening. "Ami, Tarble is regaining his senses." She told her softly.

While her friend ran to help him, Rei looked at Jean. "What will you do now? We need his help. I know he is not going to betray us." She told her, surprised of the confidence she felt.

"Are you sure?" The woman asked her.

"Yes. I feel it. Please we need to be honest with him." All her friends nodded in agreement.

Jean sighed. In her experience sincerity was rarely useful when you were an alien creature from another universe… "OK, your choice! But I will not be responsible for the inevitable doom this will bring on us, mind that."

Ignoring her, the five girls gathered around Tarble. "Ouch, what happened? Something hit me!" He was still groggy and weak.

Ami smiled sadly at him. "Tarble, I need to tell you something…"

While Ami and the others started to explain the situation to their friend, Jean grabbed Rei by the arm, dragging her in a nearby room. The young priestess followed her without struggling. She guessed her intentions.

"We have no time to spare, so while they speak we train. I'm going to show you how to use your inner strength to increase your power up. You know the basics of Ki, do you? You may know it by other names, like Qi or Ch'I or Chakra."

Rei nodded. Her priestess training included basic Ki harnessing.

"Well, my master showed me how to use it in combat. First thing, you must be able to gather it around you, like this…" She started to breath slowly, and a feeble aura of vaporous light enveloped her.

"This is a basic skill. I'm sure you can do it easily now. Saiyan bodies are full of life energy. Try to make it flow around you."

Rei succeeded in a few minutes of trying.

"Now you must learn how to suppress it. This way you will be able to avoid wasting power when not needed. This is a bit more difficult. Try to imagine the light pressed inside your body. This way you will vanish from scouters. I tested it, very useful."

Again, it was very easy for her. As if she already knew how to do it.

"Excellent. Now for the difficult part. You have to let it burn, like a flame all over your body! When you manage it, try to hold it as long as you can. The bare minimum for combat should be around three hours. We don't have the time to… whoa!" She was surprised by the sudden flare of power. Rei's aura burst out in a fiery red color, while the scouter reacted to her new level.

"Oh, that's good! You went from a little over one thousand to more than three thousands! Try to keep it!" She was amazed by the girl's ability. "She is a sailor senshi after all… I should have known." She thought smiling to herself.

Rei was feeling great. The power flowed about her like flames. She loved fire and now she _was_ fire! She remembered the sensation of being one with the universe, trying to feel it once more. She was part of it, her light shining like a star over the blackness of space. She felt the need to let it out, to burn freely.

"Stand ready!" She yelled at Jean, while clasping her hands together with the two index fingers pointing outwards. A fireball formed at the tips of her index fingers, shooting towards the Runner while she shouted "_**Fire… Soul!**_"

Her power increased to almost ten thousands on Jean's scouter. The Runner immediately gathered her power, while her aura flared to a deep crimson and her muscles bulged out. She pointed her right hand towards the fireball concentrating all of her power there.

Her hand glowing with power, she grabbed the fire ball, struggling with the powerful attack for a few seconds, trying to contain it. At last, she managed to crush it in her hand, and the fire sizzled away. Looking at her burned hand she nonetheless managed to smile at Rei.

"Good work; this attack can kill Nappa if you can hit him. But he is very fast and experienced. You will only have one chance. Remember that."

Rei smiled at her. "Thank you Jean-san. I feel more confident now. Sorry for your hand."

"Nothing a good med-pack can't handle. Try to hold your power again, when you will be able to hold it for at least half an hour you should be ready. We don't have much time. Five hours to the duel and you have to rest at least three hours."

Without wasting time, Rei resumed her training. This time holding her ki was more difficult. After firing the _Fire Soul _she felt drained. When she was transformed into Sailor Mars attacking never made her weak. "I used my own power, this is the difference. I'm sure of it. Without mars power I can still use fire attacks, but I must be careful not to drain myself." She told to herself.

Meanwhile Jean returned in the main tower room. Tarble stared at her. "What? Never seen a burned lady?" She asked ironically.

Ami was looking at the floor, clearly sad. The young prince stood up. "Ami and her friends told me the entire story. I can't still believe it! Alternate dimensions, monsters from the void, wormholes! You can't expect me to buy it, don't you?"

The Runner smirked. "What you think makes no difference to me, ord. I will find the void and I will destroy it. If your planet gets wrecked in the process, so be it. You are a Saiyan, 'win at all costs' should be easy to understand. Now, Nappa expects me to be on his side, so I'm going to grab a few hours of sleep. We will meet again tomorrow morning for the duel." She started to float away towards the balcony.

Usagi stopped her. "Wait! Do you think Rei is ready?"

Jean shrugged. "If she is, she is. Otherwise she'll die. I can't do anything more. Sorry." She flew away in the night at great speed.

Makoto shook her fist angrily. "Here she goes again! I have this need to punch her… Conceited bitch…"

"Cool down, Mako-chan. To help Rei-chan we have to stay calm. Let's go." Usagi told her walking in the room where Rei were still training. Minako and Makoto followed her.

Ami and Tarble lingered in the tower. The young prince was starting to speak but Ami stopped him. "I'm so sorry Tarble. I-I never wanted to lie to you, b-but the other Saiyans were so ruthless. We had to survive and…" She stuttered, her eyes still fixed on the floor.

"Eh… I can understand your fears. I lied to my father for years about my 'Saiyan pride'. I never wanted to fight or to kill, but I lied to keep him 'loving' me. What a fool I was. Still, if they find you out, they will kill you for sure. I don't want you to be killed. So I'm going to keep this secret. I will help you with the device you need to return to your world. But if you lie to me again…"

His aura got stronger, remembering Ami she was talking with a Saiyan. A gentle pacifist, but still a Saiyan. "I will never lie to you again, Tarble. I promise. I'm so sorry… This world is so cruel… I was afraid. All that happened… I…"

She was on the point of crying, when he lifted her face with a hand under her chin, looking in her eyes. "I believe you. Don't cry Ami. I believe you." He smiled.

Meanwhile Usagi, Makoto and Minako were sparring with Rei. It was Makoto's idea, to test Rei's new power. They worked together to hit her, but she always managed to dodge their blows, as she was aware of their intentions. "I can feel your attacks a moment before they happen! It's incredible!" She told them while dodging another combo from Minako and Makoto.

"That's good!" replied Makoto, sweeping away the sweat from her brow. "If you can keep him on his toes until you find an opening to use the _Fire Soul_, you will win!" Her friends nodded in agreement.

"I'm so tired… We should rest now, or tomorrow morning I will sleep throughout the duel!" Rei was completely spent and could only think of sleeping.

Usagi smiled at her. "You are right! We'll return to our quarters and…"

Rei had other ideas. "Maybe we should sleep in my new room in the castle… You will like it!" They returned in the main room telling Ami and Tarble of Rei's invite.

Tarble shook his head. "Sorry friends. I can't enter the castle anymore; I will wait here for good news."

Rei bowed to him. "Thank you for your help and again I apologize for having lied to you."

Tarble blushed. "Don't bow to me; I'm not a prince anymore. I hope you'll win. Nappa is a sadistic brute. Give him a good thrashing!" He waved at them while they flew away toward the castle.

When they were out of sight he sighed. "Extra-dimensional aliens! What a story! I will check the database on this topic, maybe something useful will show up." He started to work on his station, unaware of the cold eyes looking at him from the shadows.

The Void smiled to itself. It could not see who Tarble was speaking at, but it guessed them to be Runners. Spying the foolish prince had produced an unexpected boon. Praising silently his lord, the Faceless One, the creature slipped away in the darkness.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

The next morning the five friends were waiting in the plaza behind the palace.

"A real bath! A bed with silk pillows and sheets! And clothes! Jewels! You told us nothing about this!" Usagi was pestering Rei about her huge apartment in the castle.

"I figured it was not vital! I had a duel to think of!" Rei replied annoyed.

"A real bath _**is**_ vital!" Usagi yelled at her. "We don't take a bath since we arrived here! It's been _two months_! We only had those sonic showers! My skin was all dry and rough and…"

"Usagi please!" Minako was trying to calm her, while Ami and Makoto, blushing, pretended not to know her.

The bickering ended when a crowd of Saiyans gathered in the plaza. They heard about the duel and went there to witness the slaughter. Most of them were sure of Nappa's victory. Many bets were accepted on the length of the duel or about how many pieces of Rei would be left at the end.

Some warriors however made bets on Rei winning. Bardock and his squad mates were searching for Makoto. Little Radish waved at her. "Makoto! Hey! We are here! We betted on your friend's victory!"

The two groups met near the duel grounds. Makoto blushed deeply when Bardock grabbed her by the waist. "You forget our agreement, woman. You cook and keep the house clean and I train you and the boy! I forgive you this time. Duels are fun and I wouldn't like a woman who deserts her squad-mates."

Makoto grunted, trying not to hit him. This whole 'training = date' thing was grating her nerves, but she needed to learn from him and the boy needed his father. So she restrained herself and ignored his boorish attentions and Minako and Usagi's heart shaped stares.

Meanwhile their friends were making acquaintance with Radish and the other warriors. Minako was already friend with Toma and Seripa and they started to talk about Volleyball. Usagi immediately loved Radish, chatting with him about Makoto's virtues.

Then Maizen reached them, followed by Nizuki and five other Saiyan warriors. Bardock and his squad mates immediately snapped at attention, followed by Usagi. The girls looked puzzled at their friend but followed her example. Nizuki pointed two fingers at her own eyes, and then pointed the same fingers at them.

"She's keeping an eye on us." Usagi whispered to her friends.

"At ease warriors." Maizen told them. "I'm here to witness the duel. I'm betting on you winning, Seer Rei. I'm sure you can show captain Nappa the limits of his strength. May bravery and strategy win over brute power!" He nodded at her, waiting for Nappa to arrive.

Rei gulped, very aware of the possibility of dying. She faced death a lot of times as Sailor Mars. This time however there was a difference, her friends could not help her. Otherwise they would be killed on King's orders; such was the rule for Saiyan's duels. She was unable to conjure a vision of her future, so she asked her friends to promise not to interfere. They refused, obviously. "I have to win at all costs, or they will be in danger!" She told herself while waiting.

Nappa arrived flying a short time later, smug and sure of himself, Jean landing beside him together with some of his subordinates. Their burly captain walked to the center of the plaza, taking a fighting stance. "Come on woman! I'm ready!" He shouted towards Rei.

The young woman left her friends bravely, entering the fighting grounds. When she was about twenty meters from her enemy, she took a basic karate guard stance Makoto had taught her that night.

The King, just then showing up with his son Vegeta and the generals, raised a hand. "Commence!" He shouted.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~ **Rei **_vs_** Nappa** ~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Nappa started glowing, small lightning bolts dancing upon his skin. "It's Time! I'll show you no mercy! Haaaaaaa!" He shouted, charging Rei at full speed!

Jean was surprised by her teacher's quickness. "He's faster than usual!" She shouted.

Nappa's charge was so fast he was upon Rei in a moment. He focused his power in the right fist, trying to hit her on the head.

Rei immediately felt that parrying such a blow would be fatal, so she tilted back her torso almost touching ground with her head, dodging the attack. Her Saiyan muscles straining with the effort, she sprang back on his right side, taking advantage of his momentum, striking him with a right knee blow in the liver.

The attack failed to do any damage, and Nappa swung his arm again, trying to hit her with an elbow smash. Rei jumped with all her strength, dodging again. She found herself twenty meters in the air, directly above her opponent.

Nappa smirked, jumping over her and tumbling upside down. He kicked at Rei, too fast for her to dodge, smashing her on the head! Fortunately for the young woman, she had foreseen the attack, focusing her power in the arms and parrying most of the blow's strength. She was pushed down on the ground, landing on all fours to mitigate the impact. She stood up immediately, looking upwards.

Nappa smirked again, charging energy in his right index and middle fingers. He slashed at her releasing a terrible wave of power. Rei Jumped back with all of her strength, aware of the danger. The wave blasted the ground, digging a very deep trench in the earth. The detonation pushed her back but she managed to keep standing.

Nappa was very angry; the woman gave him the impression of being able to guess all of his moves. "Grrrrr! You little bastard! Keep dodging, I will catch you sooner or later!"

Rei replied immediately. "You think dodging is for cowards? Then stay right there where you are!" She clasped her hands together with the two index fingers pointing outwards. Concentrating all of her power she formed a little fireball at the tips of her hands.

"She would never hit him from this distance! He will dodge it!" Shouted Minako, fearful for her friend's life.

Bardock smiled reassuring her. "He won't dodge. She challenged his honor, spitting back at him his very words. The big fool!"

Nappa, now furious, shouted at the girl all of his hate. "Then show me your power, stupid wench!"

"You want my power? Take it! _**Fire… Soul!**_" At the same time the little fireball grew larger, almost three meters wide! Then it shot towards the big warrior.

Nappa smirked at the girl while she was charging her attack, sure of his power. Then his scouter beeped madly. "What? Her power is increasing! Again this technique!" He looked at the numbers rising from a little more than three thousands to almost ten thousands! Many of the spectators gasped in surprise.

"I have to counter it!" He shouted opening his mouth to the limit and shooting from it an enormous wave of energy! The attacks crashed in mid-air, a huge detonation blasting them away.

The two warriors were pushed back but Nappa, being in flight, crashed on the ground opening a new crater. He stood up a moment later, his armor cracked and torn and with a few light wounds, but otherwise unharmed. "He he he, that was a good attack. You surprised me once, but you won't have a second chance!"

Rei could not believe that the monster could counter her attack. Her strength was waning and she was low on ideas. She gulped loudly, looking at her friends.

"Idiot! Keep looking at him!" Prince Vegeta shouted at Rei at the top of his lungs.

Looking back she found his enemy already upon her! Nappa charged again, punching her with all of his power. Unable to dodge Rei parried with her right arm!

With a sickening crunch, her arm bones snapped! Only the strong Saiyan tendons and muscles prevented her arm from being ripped away. "Arrgh!" She cried almost fainting from the pain.

Nappa kicked her in the guts, her armor saving her life. The strength of the blow pushed her back a few meters. She landed heavily on her back, trying to stand up.

Nappa was already over her, quickly grabbing the young woman with his arms, trying to slowly crush the life out of her body. Rei was too weak to evade, but she managed to keep her arms free. "Ha ha ha! Time to finish this ridiculous duel! I'm going to kill you slowly, wench!" He gloated.

Usagi and her friends were almost entering the duel grounds to attack Nappa when Rei managed to muster the strength to shout a warning. "No! I'm going to win! Stay out of this!"

They looked at her with disbelieving eyes, still unconvinced. At the same moment Prince Vegeta spoke again. "Don't play with him woman! I have other important things to do!"

Nappa could not believe his ears. "Prince Vegeta! The one going to win will be me! Why you..?" He was so distracted to not notice Rei's arms.

With extreme effort, the young woman succeeded in raising her broken right arm in front of Nappa's face. Clasping her hands together she invoked her power again, finding new strength she was only now aware of having. In agonizing pain, she was unable to shout, so she whispered; _"Fire… Soul!"_ And a fireball materialized directly in Nappa's face!

"Arrrrrgh!" The burly Saiyan shouted in pain as the attack burned away his face! Letting go of the woman, he tried to put out the flames with his hands, but the fire was so concentrated his very flesh was burning. Finally, having no other choice he slammed his entire head _into_ the ground, extinguishing the flames.

Meanwhile Rei staggered back, trying not to fall down. She knew Nappa was still not defeated, so she started to concentrate, ignoring the searing pain in her torso and arm. She pushed away everything, focusing all of her very being in her left fist. Flames started to burn white hot over her left arm, without hurting her.

Nappa's head emerged from the ground, horribly disfigured by the ordeal. "I'll kill youuuu!" He screamed charging her again. This time Rei was ready for him. She was again one with the universe!

In her visions, Nappa's charge had already taken place. She could see him clearly, trying again to punch her head. She moved slightly, positioning herself for the best result. When the huge warrior was upon her she dodged easily his attack.

Then she punched herself, hitting Nappa on the nose! The flames on her arm blasted her punch forward like a rocket, tripling her strength. She smashed Nappa's burned nose, cracking bones and tearing flesh. The impact made the warrior tumble a few times in the air, finally crashing on the ground, unmoving.

After a few tense moments, the king shouted, among the cheers of the crowd. "The winner is… Rei!"

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

The loudest to cheer were obviously Usagi and the girls, immediately running to help her wounded friend. "You scared us to death! Never do it again, Rei-chan!" Cried Usagi trying to help her.

"Careful Usagi-chan! She could have punctured lungs! Rei-chan please wait, I will fetch a stretcher!" Ami warned them.

"She will be attended by the castle's med-techs, step back women!" Prince Vegeta's voice froze them. Looking at Rei he smirked. "What a weakling! I'm eight and I'm stronger than you. I want you in the castle's training hall the moment you exit the medical machine. I made myself clear on this?"

Rei nodded despite the pain. "Crystal clear, your highness!"

"Tsk. Don't make me wait." With these words the prince walked away.

Makoto and Minako were glowering at Vegeta's back, but Bardock warned them. "He's the strongest Saiyan alive. You should be more careful."

Makoto was surprised. "That little boy?"

Seripa nodded at her. "His power level has already surpassed the King's. And he's only eight! Imagine his strength at maturity!"

Captain Maizen walked up to them, followed by his subordinates. "Congratulations Seer Rei. Your victory rightfully gives you the status of an Elite warrior. I would like to remind your friends that they have only one month to match your result, or they will be sent to 'clear' another planet."

He looked at Usagi. "Buns-head, I expect you to show up in my office in thirty minutes. Good day to you all." He walked away, Nizuki still standing beside her. "Don't be late!" She whispered following her captain.

A team of med-techs showed up, putting Rei on a stretcher and spiriting her away in the castle. Ami persuaded them to allow her inside, but her friends were locked out. No-one touched Nappa's body.

Minako looked at him. "Is he dead? Are they leaving him here?"

"His life belong to Rei now. No-one will aid him. Stealing a kill is taboo." Replied Jean matter-of-factly.

"It's barbaric!" Gasped Usagi, walking towards the hulking warrior. "I will bring him to a medical center!" She grunted trying to pick up the body.

Minako and Makoto hesitated. "Usagi… He tried to kill Rei! He is a sadistic murderer!"

"That is not the point! I'm not leaving him here! You can help me or not, I don't care!" Being his body too heavy, she resorted to drag him.

Face palming Makoto and Minako decided to help her.

Jean looked at the young women, shaking her head. "I have a bad feeling about this. You will regret this decision."

The three friends ignored her.

* * *

**Ami's Scouter Data.**

- Recording. Planet Vegeta. Day 72.

I found some interesting data about Saiyan's primitive society in the Tsufuru Archives. The recordings of a very old Tsufuru anthropological expedition in the north continent's forests.

**- File 9978327.K451** – Observations on Saiyan tribal culture.

Note: The following notes were found in the blood soaked notebook of Professor Granmel, amidst the remains of his expedition. Someone tried to eat the notebook, and those were the only pages readable.

**- Day one.** We found a suitable hideout in the snowcapped mountain. Masking it with our camo-sheets we dug in comfortably. Our long range sensors will enable us to spy on a little tribe of Saiyans. No more than ten adult males, twelve adult females and six youngsters, four boys and two girls. They live in a clearing in the midst of the forest. Why they shun the more comfortable caverns of the mountain I can't fathom. The adults wear simple fur tunics, the young are naked. They constantly fight over anything! How can they survive here?

**- Day five.** We witnessed a hunt. All the tribe hunts, even the babies! They killed two vurglaks easily. The young ones faked fear and fled into a trap. The vurglaks followed them and were assaulted by the other Saiyans. A strong male immobilized the beast, allowing a young girl to kill it biting is neck! The kill seems an important part of the hunt. Maybe an adult initiation ritual? The girl skinned the beast and fashioned a crude tunic with it. I think they wear only the skin of beasts they killed themselves. We noticed their infighting rarely results in dangerous wounds. One of my students thinks they are really sparring to toughen up!

**- Day twenty.** Two Saiyans married today! At least we think they consider themselves married. Saiyan courtship is very physical. The male trailed the female regularly, trying to catch her off guard. They fought constantly for over two weeks! After ten days she finally allowed him to join her on a hunt. We lost track of them but when they were back they went straight to the chieftain. All the tribe gathered and the two lovers entwined their tails and kissed. I regret not having the occasion to plant microphones in the area. They cooked a lot of meat and played games of skill or strength. An old woman produced some beverage. Maybe fermented hukka berries? They can have fun when they want.

**- Day sixty two.** Another tribe attacked them! There was intense fighting and five tribesman and two women were left dead! The enemies lost five warriors in the surprise attack. They abducted the young ones and one woman. Maybe they need new blood to avoid inbreeding. 'Our' tribe packed their belongings and followed the enemies. Feuds must be very common here! We need to move our camp. One of my students reminded me Crystal is almost full, we have only three days to find another hideout.

**End of file.**


	15. Chapter 15: Revelation

_Obligatory copyright disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and relative characters are intellectual property of their respective owners. I'm using them without permission, but this is only a no-profit Fan fiction._

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**Author's notes: Thanks to all the reviewers! You give me the strength to continue writing ^^**

**I uploaded this chapter without external proof-reading, so if you find mistakes, please send me a note, I will correct it.**

AnonymousZGirl: Thanks for your support! I finally forced myself to write a new chapter. Don't worry about Nappa loving someone… I don't think he is capable of it… But he is a tough one and will survive.

Xipholynx: I'll try to keep up the good work ^^

Jewlbunny: He, he, he, you may be right, but… No spoilers! And thanks for your support ^^

Whiteling: You are sooo right! But we know Usagi… Jean warned her not to save Nappa.

RandomName3064: Thanks for the constructive review. Sorry for the errors, my English is not very good. I could write the story in Italian but you probably could not read it XD. By the way, in the Italian version of DBZ Raditz is called "Radish", so I forgot to check if the English version was different. I planned the story to reach the last battle against Frieza. I even started to flesh up a DB follow-up story. As for searching a beta reader… I'm terribly shy! I'm afraid to ask ç_ç

Echelon9: Thanks! I like the manga version for the storyline, but I find the (first season) characters more likeable and humane in the anime. My story is based on them.

Minnieshon: Thanks for spotting the errors, I'm sorry about that…

Darkitty04: Thanks, I'm glad you like the story so far.

Crispywheat, Whiteling, Kaylain914: Thank you very much for your support!

* * *

**Chapter 15, Revelation**

After dragging the hulking body of the defeated Nappa to the nearest medical center, Usagi, Makoto and Minako lingered in the area.

"I hope he would survive. I don't want for Rei to become a murderer." Usagi muttered to herself while looking at the floor.

Makoto grabbed her by the shoulders. "Usagi, I cannot believe what you are saying. First, Nappa is a real monster of a man. If he dies, than good riddance! Second, we are already murderers… remember Babke!"

Usagi freed herself, swatting away Makoto's hands. "You cannot? We are supposed to save lives! Not to take them! The horror on Babke was not our fault. And it will never happen again! Never ever again! I won't take any more lives, not even of enemies!" She shouted angrily.

She backed away from Makoto, starting to cry. "My dear friend, stalwart, dependable Makoto! Turned in a dark and twisted mockery of herself. I can't stand it! Please, please, return to your senses! We cannot let this place worm its way in our minds any more that it has already done!" She pleaded miserably.

"Usagi…" Minako had no words for her friend. She could understand Makoto's bitterness. She felt the same. The nauseous memory of Babke caused an acrid taste of bile to surge in her mouth. At the same time the temptation to surrender to the warm, red haze of battle-lust threatened to overwhelm her with excitement every time she used her new strength. It was excruciatingly confusing.

Makoto was on the verge of losing her temper. With a mighty effort she calmed down. "I'm sorry… I don't know if I can go back to my old self. Not here… not in this body. I…"

An acute voice interrupted her. "Makoto! Here you are! Father ordered me to remind your agreement! We have training to do!" Raditz shouted while running into her arms.

"Raditz! I'm sorry, I forgot… I will come shortly." Makoto could not suppress a smile. The young Saiyan boy was so carefree now. Very different from the sad child she met not so many days ago.

"Come now! I want to get stronger as soon as possible and you promised to cook me that 'ramen' dish!" He was jumping up and down with youthful excitement. "By the way, the duel was awesome! Father won several bets thanks to your friend. Are you all this powerful?" He asked Usagi and Minako.

Smiling, they assured him Makoto was the strongest of them. "Wow! I knew it! Come on Makoto, Father is waiting for us!" The boy grabbed Makoto's hand, literally dragging her away.

"I must go now. We will catch up later!" Makoto told them, following Raditz out of the corridor.

Minako patted Usagi on the shoulder. "Maybe this is what Makoto needs. Caring for someone will bring out her gentleness. Don't worry too much. She will recover her usual self." She smiled at her.

Usagi sighed. "I hope you are right. I sincerely hope so. I…" Her scouter beeped madly, stopping her musings.

When she activated the device an angry voice erupted from the speakers. "Usagi! You worthless piece of wormy trash! Get your sorry ass here, or I will personally kick you into orbit!"

Usagi snapped promptly at attention! "Yes sir!" Nizuki's voice zapped the young woman into action. "Must go! She will kill me! Bye!" She ran away at full speed, waving at Minako.

The girl smiled. Her friend hadn't changed a bit. Even as a Saiyan. Minako gracefully flew out of the nearest window, calling her new friends with the scouter. She wanted to ask something to Seripa and Toma. She was not worried for Rei; the medical machines would heal her.

Nonetheless she felt uneasy. Something on the godforsaken planet was not right. Since Usagi told her of her fight with the 'wife' of the deceased warrior she supposedly killed in self-defense, she smelled something fishy. Maybe it was the void Jean spoke of. Maybe not. Her old habits as Sailor V, the ally of justice, prompted her to investigate.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Almost a month had passed from the fateful duel between Rei and Nappa. The young seer recovered completely thanks to the medical machines and her strength increased both from zenkai and the grueling training sessions prince Vegeta ordered her to undertake.

At the same time the King ordered the creation of a 'fire reading' hall. Shiny wood panels cut from the trees of the northern forests were brought to cover the plasticrete walls. A huge fire pit would be filled with rare and bright burning alien woods. The room was to be bereft of any decoration, as Rei wanted it to be.

The King started to ask her advice over many matters and Rei had to study the current situation of the Saiyan Kingdom to better concentrate in her meditations. Again, prince Vegeta was a great help in this. Despite his young age he was very sharp, and very interested in all the questions the King asked her.

Rei's visions were blurry as usual, but their frequency and precision had increased from her life on earth. She started to have hunches and vibes from normal situations too, so she asked Jean to help her understand the new power.

The Runner, Nappa out of the picture, was assigned to prince Vegeta guards. Thus she and Rei were often together. The two women were given lavish chambers in the castle and rarely came out of the fortress.

The ex-captain recovered slowly from the hideous burns he suffered. Even with the medical machines his face was forever scarred. After treatment the King immediately ordered him to a distant PTO planet on sentry duty, following Rei's suggestion.

Meanwhile Makoto decided to move in Sharotto's old room, to be with Raditz full-time and to keep her part of the deal with Bardock.

"Are you going to live with that brute?" Asked Usagi, surprised by her decision.

Makoto sighed, expecting the reaction. "He is not a 'brute'! He is a normal Saiyan warrior! Don't worry; I only agreed to keep his rooms clean and to cook for him. Nothing more. I need the training and Raditz needs him even more. I'm going to punch the idea of fatherhood in Bardock's thick head until he makes up to his son!"

Bardock's training was severe and exhausting but Makoto and Raditz wouldn't set for anything less. The boy was very serious and through, giving his best every time. Makoto suspected his motive being Bardock's approval. Her cooking became quickly famous and more and more cooks started to ask her for recipes, much to cook-chief Boboghia annoyance.

Minako and Ami still slept in their old quarters with Usagi, but they were almost always out on their own. They went out at dawn and returned just before going to sleep.

Minako, together with Seripa and Toma, recruited some friends and formed the 'Space Blasters' Powerball team. Combat training, often in the form of Powerball games with other squad's teams, occupied most of their day. She spent the remaining time pursuing a special project she never spoke of.

Ami was very busy trying to understand the complicated device they needed to return to their dimension. She was also training with Tarble to increase her strength.

Usagi immediately warned her of the odd concept of Saiyans dating. "Be careful. They follow strange customs!"

"I don't mind…" Replied shyly the smart girl. "… If it's Tarble." She added blushing.

"You really are dating him! Ami!" Usagi could not believe it, her friend was usually totally allergic to anything love related, and now…

"T-Tarble asked me if he could come with us on Earth. He hates living here. He is a pacifist, you know…"

"Oh… I hope the outers would not attack him once there… And even then… leaving behind friends, family and his very world!" Usagi was very surprised at the news. Tarble was a good man but he was a Saiyan. There was no way Haruka and Michiru would ignore him. And there was the little issue of coming from another reality altogether. Setsuna was the guardian of time and space; she was very strict with her duty.

Ami replied seriously, clearly on the defensive. "We are his only friends, with the possible exception of Maizen. Tarble told me they were inseparable until he got promoted to captain. Now he is a general and they don't see each other anymore. And what of his family? The King and the other warriors think nothing of him! I consider his decision very brave. Let me speak for him to the outers!"

Usagi was actually happy for Ami. Romantic love with an alien prince, the only good man in a planet of barbarians. It sounded like a love novel's plot! She knew of her friend's secret interest in such stories.

Yet she felt alone now. Usagi always found difficult to wake up at morning and that had not changed in a Saiyan body. Every day, by the time she was fully aware, her friends had already left. When she returned home no-one was usually there. Being tired from her own workout and having absolutely nothing to do she went to sleep before they returned.

Thus the only contacts with her friends were rare and fleeting glimpses at dawn or dusk. This depressed her greatly. No Mamoru, no friends, no family, no sweets, no games, nothing at all but training!

Not that she hated it anymore. On Earth she loathed excessive physical activity. A good game once in a while was ok, but intensive training was a no-no. Now she actually enjoyed it. The feeling of her new well-toned muscles straining, the rush of power coursing through her body, the exhilaration of flying. To her Saiyan body and instincts, training was fun!

Nizuki finally graduated Usagi to the intermediate level, pairing her to a fourteen year old Saiyan girl named Feneru. This meant constant fighting for almost ten hours a day! Feneru was not tall as Usagi, but many times more violent and moody. The norm for a Saiyan woman. She had ruffled shoulder length hair and long side bangs. Strangely enough she refused to join a warrior's squad and was so assigned to Maizen's staff.

Under Nizuki's command they worked for no more than three hours each day on the strange database entries Lord Frieza requested. No PTO technician was permitted to see their work and Usagi suspected the newly promoted 'general' Maizen to alter the entries after their work was done.

She saw him working on the data in his station with practiced ease. She could see in her mind young Maizen and Tarble working together in the Tsufuru science center. Too bad the young general's ambition strained their friendship.

The man was a mystery to her. He had all the bad attitudes of Mamoru and none of the good qualities save the looks. He was using the invasion of a pacific world as a political ploy to improve his standing. He even used her friend Rei to kill off the opposition! Usagi was not present at the dinner in which Rei challenged Nappa, but from the account Jean gave her, she was sure the man had actually engineered the conversation to have his way. Unforgivable!

Nizuki was all over him though, and Usagi had promised not to stand in her way. She actually thought about helping her. Maizen however was a real cold fish and ignored every women save Usagi.

"Why on earth… wait… on Vegeta… did he has to follow my every progress? I don't want anything from him. Poor Nizuki, she's like totally transparent to him." Usagi whispered to Feneru during a break in training.

The young warrior girl smirked while gulping down a pint of some purple juice. "It's their status, you dolt! She's a common warrior and he's a noble. Even if she becomes élite, she will be always beneath him. You on the other hand are a total mystery. You could be a princess of a lost tribe, your kingdom destroyed but your royal lineage intact. You told us of being from the Galangal tribes, didn't you?"

Usagi sprayed on the floor the juice she was drinking, coughing and stuttering. "P-princess of a lost kingdom? W-why should I be a princess? Do I seem one? Do I?"

Feneru laughed loudly at her reaction. "I was joking! Joking! You are the least princessy of all Saiyan women! If your tribe had a princess she had to be that Seer at the King's court, Rei. Don't worry about that Buns-head." She looked around conspiratorial. "I think the pervert likes you for the helpless aura you radiate. Nizuki is too competent and strong for him."

"Aww! You are making fun of me as usual! I'm not helpless!" pouted Usagi relieved. The last thing she wanted was to start again with the 'lost princess' thing. She struggled for years with the notion that Mamoru only liked her due to their previous life's memories. This was also the greatest weakness of her love for Mamo-chan. "Did I really love him, or 'she' loved him and I am forced to live again her feelings?" She asked herself in her thoughts.

"Quit slacking off, you two!" Barked Nizuki in their direction. "Usagi, I want you to fight with Feneru more seriously. She will never improve if you continue to pull your punches. Another duel, now!"

Groaning loudly Usagi walked to the center of the training platform. These continuous duels were quite a workout but she had to concede that her fighting skill had improved immensely. This was not a simple exchange of energy attacks like her fights as Sailor Moon, but a physical close-up-and-personal confrontation. Punches, kicks, knee and elbow strikes, hand chops and head-butts, Saiyan martial arts were fast and brutal and very effective.

Her Saiyan body was incredibly tough and resilient, capable of withstanding a surprising amount of punishment. Even then, wounds were inevitable. In the past Usagi would have whimpered at the slightest injury, now she ignored the pain and fought on. Her real mettle, usually coming out only in the direst situations, was dug out by Nizuki's training, honed and polished until it became almost a second nature.

Dodging a nasty eye-gouging attack that scratched her cheek, Usagi kicked Feneru on the head, only to stop her attack when the girl failed to block it. Her opponent immediately grabbed the leg and slammed her on the floor.

Nizuki stopped them. "Usagi! Idiot! Why did you botch that kick? She was off-balance. Were you afraid to injure her?" She noted the smirk on Feneru's lips.

While Usagi recovered her balance, the Saiyan warrior woman never stopped scolding her. "She missed the block on purpose! She knew you would have stopped your attack… It was a feint in which she exploited this idiotic gentle nature of yours! Be smart or you will never become élite! Am I speaking to a stone? Answer me!"

Sighing, Usagi lowered her eyes. "I… did not want to hurt her… this is only training after all."

"Argh! This is precisely what I said before! Do! Not! Pull! Your! Punches! Again!" She waved at them, signaling to continue fighting.

The two girls exchanged blows, this time Usagi being more aggressive. Five years fighting as Sailor Moon gave her the combat experience her opponent lacked. Feneru was strong but she mostly won her battles changing into Oozaru form, as was usual with Saiyan youngsters.

On the other hand, Usagi was used to battle vastly stronger opponents. Now that she was the stronger, only her gentle nature kept her back. Going all-out was difficult. Her body loved the challenge but her mind did not. However the constant remarks bellowed at her by Nizuki and Feneru's lowly tactics were starting to grate at her nerves. After another vicious attack Usagi decided to show her opponent the error of her ways. She increased speed and power almost to the limit and overwhelmed Feneru's defense with a couple of powerful punches.

Startled by the onslaught the girl lost her balance. Usagi spun on herself in a quick roundhouse kick that connected on the girl's jaw. Feneru was thrown back by a few meters and landed heavily on the floor, dazed. Usagi kept a straight face, but she mentally congratulated at herself. Payback!

"Oh! Finally! It wasn't so difficult, wasn't it? On your feet girl, fight on!" Barked again their commander. Feneru however was still sprawled on the ground, groaning. Nizuki softly kicked her. "On your feet, warrior!"

Grunting, the girl tried to stand, only to fall again. "She must have a concussion or something…" Nizuki turned to address Usagi, who was standing there horrified.

"I… I hurt her! I'm so sorry!" Hurrying to help Feneru, she knelt beside her. "Here… try to rest a little; I'll help you to the Medical Center…"

Nizuki grabbed the stunned girl pulling her over the shoulder. "Quit the theatrics Buns-head. I will take her to a medical machine. You have the rest of the day free. Good work."

She smiled at Usagi's stricken face. "Next time I want you to remember how today you finally started to fight seriously. That was a good kick girl! We'll see each other tomorrow morning… Unless she dies from the concussion… ha ha ha!"

Usagi gawked at the warrior woman while she walked out of the training hall with Feneru straddled like a sack of potatoes on her shoulder. "I hope she was joking! She wouldn't die from my kick… I hope… Oh… I hate all of this!"

Locked in anguish Usagi ran up to the balcony and jumped in the air. Learning to fly was the only good thing that came about from their arrival in that accursed planet. Rocketing at breakneck speed in the sky was the only release from the tension she accumulated in the past weeks. And she was fast! According to Ami's measurements she was twice as fast as her power level normally allowed. Maneuvering was still her weak point however.

She headed towards the sea, flying as low as she could. Her speed created so strong a turbulence to raise a spray of water after her passage. She abruptly changed course, rising toward the sky. Punching a hole into the clouds she reached the atmosphere's limit. Holding her breath she paused for an instant, looking at the sun setting over the horizon. A breathtaking sight… being in a Saiyan body sure had its perks. A human's blood would have boiled away due to the low pressure, if it wasn't already frozen.

Having regained her composure, Usagi flew back towards the fortress city and the Science Tower, hoping to hear good news from her friend Ami. That morning she told to all of them to come at her lab at sunset.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Makoto cursed under her lips for the hundredth time. It was not enough to clean and cook for that idiot, now he insisted at something completely unreasonable. They waited for Raditz to go to train with his friends, before starting the fireworks.

"No! It's final! You won't send him in mission!" She shouted at Bardock while giving him the cold shoulder.

"Shut up woman! I thought you wanted him to be strong!" He retorted, puzzled by the young lady's reaction. A normal Saiyan mother would be proud of her son being sent to a mission of conquest! But Makoto was completely different from Sharotto, or from any other Saiyan woman…

"I wanted you to be a father for him! You idiot!" She barked back at the handsome warrior.

"And I was! We trained for more than three weeks and he is ready! I can assure you, the Tosutons are a weak race. With a power level of about one hundred, he shouldn't have any problems. Besides, that planet has eleven moons; a full one is almost assured. It will be easy like slicing a Grokk's belly!"

Makoto whirled towards him, angrier than ever. Her cheek scar was livid and her eyes sparkled. As usual, her hair was crackling from the electrical currents she released while enraged. Bardock could not repress a shiver, she was beautiful!

"I don't want him to kill millions of innocents, and you shouldn't want it too! He's a child, for heaven's sake! Don't make him become a murderer like… like us!"

Bardock furrowed his brow, grabbing her shoulders. "Makoto, why do you think we are murderers? We are warriors! We don't steal like thieves, we conquer! We don't stab anyone in the back, we fight face to face! We risk our life because fighting IS our life! Why can't you understand that?"

She tried to free herself, but without using her lightning she couldn't. He was still stronger than her. She averted her eyes. "It's you that don't understand. What honor or glory could be gained by slaughtering innocents? You should fight against the evil in the universe, not the other way around!"

Much to her surprise Bardock nodded. "Fine! If this is what you want, it can be done."

The young woman lost all of her anger, due to the extreme surprise. "W-what do you mean?"

"I mean Raditz will stay here for a while, training with my buddies, while we go on a fighting-evil mission. Is this acceptable to you? I will prove that we are not criminals and that your objections are just stupid babble." He smirked at her with his usual irritating handsomeness.

"A fighting-evil mission? Explain." She could never stay angry at him too long. He had an innocent side in his personality that was difficult to spot at the beginning, but it was there. He did not really grasp the magnitude of all the suffering his race inflicted upon others. Like little children squashing bugs, the Saiyans were not truly evil, at least the majority of them, just amoral.

Bardock shrugged. With her explanations were always due. She could never take an order without asking why it was given. "Many PTO clients requests protection from space pirates or enemy armies, even space monsters or something like that. These are high-profile assignments, only for the élite. Your power level is still low, a little over three thousands, but I can take you with me on a simple mission. No civilians harmed no extinctions, no conquest, just defense. I can't guarantee against the slaughter though… Space pirates can be stubborn."

Makoto could not decide if the last sentence was a joke. He was deadly serious, but Saiyans did have a twisted sense of humor. "Raditz will stay here?"

He nodded.

"No civilian deaths? No atrocities? Only pirate hunting?"

He nodded again. "You can't eat for free, you have to work you know? If you don't like conquest, we can protect. Deal?"

She looked at him, unconvinced. This could still be some sort of weird Saiyan's bonding ritual. "I can't answer on such a short notice. Give me time to consider it."

Bardock sighed. "You think too much for your own good. But… OK. I will wait one day."

She nodded at him. "I will go to speak with my friends. I'll tell you my decision when I'm back."

"You should let me teach you how to fly. Walking up to the Science Tower will take you at least an hour. It's a maze of corridors, you know?" He smiled at her, already knowing the answer.

"No! I can't fly. Stop asking me! Bye." She ran away, cursing his persistence.

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Raditz was annoyed with Makoto. This was a new feeling for him. The young woman was perfect in almost every other way, but she would not let him go on a mission!

He worked so hard for this and finally Father recognized his worth. Making him join a squad and starting a warrior's life should have been a joy for her, but no! She wanted him safe, in shame, like his late mother!

Still fuming, the boy wandered aimlessly the halls of the fortress city. So distracted to bump on someone. "Stupid grokk-head, look where you go!" He grumbled looking up. His gaze met the ugly scaled face of a big alien, probably a PTO guard.

"You luk w're ye go, yong'un! And lern sam mann'rs!" The alien told him with his horrible accent, while slamming a hand on his face. Caught by surprise the boy staggered back, but was on his feet in a moment. Like any other Saiyan his answer to violence was more violence, so he charged the creature, fighting with all of his power.

The alien, surprised at the viciousness of his attack failed to block his punch from connecting. The attack drew blood. Wiping the clear violet fluid from his lips, the creature sneered at the boy. "N'w I'm going to kill 'u!" The creature attacked at the boy with a fast combo of punches and kicks.

The Alien's strength overwhelmed Raditz. He could not block his attacks. He could not hit him anymore. A kick slammed in the guts, leaving him powerless on the floor. So this was the real limit of his strength? He waited for the killing blow, but it never came. Rising his eyes, he dared to look at his tormentor.

The Alien's punch was firmly in the grasp of a man. The faint crunching noise of bones breaking sounded like music to the boy's ears.

"G-general Maizen, sir!" Raditz was surprised to see the high-class warrior defending him.

Maizen released the Alien soldier. "I trust you will refrain from hitting a boy in the future. Was I sufficiently clear?" He asked.

Grunting the PTO soldier nodded, running away the moment Maizen lowered his gaze on Raditz.

"You were very brave to stand up to him. Tell me the reason for your duel." He asked gently.

Raditz sighed, and then he started to talk. About his mother, his father. About Makoto and her stubborn decision not to let him fight.

The general nodded. "I see. Then I have a proposal for you. Hear me out…"

~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~o~

Sometime later, in the Science Tower, the five girls from another universe were standing in front of a really big device, together with the runner and the ex-prince.

A very drawn and tired looking Ami was explaining them how they would return to their universe. "This device is a Negative-mass-matter Stream Projector. Tarble and I revised and tested it. It should stabilize an unstable wormhole, like the ones Jean can conjure on her own, without first defeating the Void."

The runner was impressed. The little girl managed to repair and test an impossibly complex device in only three weeks! If the contraption worked as intended, her runner associates would be very interested. With it they could travel freely between universes. Their first real advantage over the minions of the Faceless One.

Usagi looked skeptically at the device. She was as always dubious of any complicated machinery. And Ami looks worried her. "Ami, dear. You look terrible! Are you eating enough?"

Tarble opened his mouth, trying to tell her something. But Ami stopped him. "We worked around the clock to finish this, but I assure you that I have no problems whatsoever. Tarble's synthetic food replicator is working fine for me. Now… If Jean could open a little wormhole, we could test the device without thr risk of blowing away half the planet."

Minako jumped at the statement. "You are kidding, aren't you? Ami?"

Rei sighed at her friend's usual lack of insight. "She's serious. It's obvious." Lately her sensitivity was so fine-tuned she started to feel annoyed by everyone's lack of perception.

Minako grunted at her bluntness. "I'm not a seer like you. Sorry of being myself…" She muttered angrily.

"Please, don't bicker between yourselves! Jean-san, can you do as Ami asked?" Usagi pleaded her friends to stop their quarrel with large teary eyes.

Makoto snorted at them. "Don't make Usagi sad, girls! We'll only waste time." She looked at the Runner. "Ami asked you something…"

Jean ignored her gloomy manners. "Sure. This will burn my karma very fast. I hope you are right."

Ami nodded. "I am. We will use the stabilized wormhole to read the situation on earth and visualize the moment of our departure for this world. This way I should be able to fine tune the device to point at the right place at the right moment. When Jean will open the real wormhole I will be ready.

The runner smiled at her. "No time to dawdle then. Turn on the device and I'll work my magic."

She raised her hands in front of her, concentrating her power on punching through the veil of reality. Space warped and stretched, a humming sound rose from the center of the room. A smell of ozone filled the chamber, while the sound grew stronger. Finally, with a whooshing sound a vortex of blue-red energy formed, swirling lazily in front of them.

Ami promptly fired her device, producing a white beam of light, which pulsed his way into the vortex. Regulating various settings in the device, Ami managed to enlarge the vortex, clearing up the swirling colors at its center.

"We should see the top of the Fashion Building at Juuban. If not, I'll have to vary the twenty-dimensional matrix I used to pinpoint our reality." She shouted over the noise of the Vortex.

The seven friends looked at the image forming at the center of the vortex.

"It is becoming clearer!" Minako shouted. "I can see the rooftop!"

"It's working! You are a genius Ami!" Added Makoto.

Rei stood silent. She started to feel a very bad vibe.

The image crystallized before their eyes. They could see the right building, the right rooftop and…

…Themselves, still transformed as Sailor Senshi, getting up after being scattered away by the otherworldly wind that brought them on planet Vegeta!

Their voices reached them from the other universe!

"That was a close call Usagi! You should not throw yourself in situations like this without waiting for Ami's analysis! I told you that at least a hundred times!" Sailor Mars was scolding Eternal Sailor Moon.

Rei remembered that very words. She wanted to tell her the same things, an instant before being swept away in this universe!

"What…?" Usagi could not understand what was happening. "Are you sure this is our universe? We are still there! Maybe they are alternate versions of us…"

Ami was working feverishly on the device's controls. "The quantum signature is the correct one. I… can't understand…"

Before anyone could say something more, Sailor Pluto's image materialized in the center of the vortex!

"Alien beings from another dimension! You shall not pass in our universe! Be gone!" She shouted while waving at them her Garnet Staff! The vortex vanished with a popping sound and the device stopped working.

The runner looked at their stricken faces. "Oops!"


End file.
